the sports page weekly

20
I N S I D E December 9-15, 2011 www.sportspagedfw.com FREE

Upload: dan-mcvicker

Post on 09-Mar-2016

225 views

Category:

Documents


1 download

DESCRIPTION

The Big 12 basketball preview, Texas Rangers, MLB Winter meetings, SMU going to the Big 8

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: The Sports Page Weekly

I N S I D E

December 9-15, 2011 www . s p o r t s p aged fw . c om F R E E

Page 2: The Sports Page Weekly

2 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

Page 3: The Sports Page Weekly

spor tspagedfw.com | The Sports Page | December 9-15, 2011 33

HAPPYHAPPY HOURHOUR4 - 7 pm , Mon - Fri

$1 off ALL Liquor, beer and wine

LUNCHLUNCH SPECIALSPECIAL SSMon - Fri 11 am - 3 pmGIANTS at COWBOYS

SUNDAY at 7:00 PM

Page 4: The Sports Page Weekly

DALLAS (SMU) - SMU has accepted aninvitation to join the BIG EASTConference in all sports, President R.Gerald Turner announced today, fulfillingthe University's goal to join a BowlChampionship Series Automatic Qualifier(BCS-AQ) conference, a standard ofexcellence in college athletics today.

SMU, Houston and the University ofCentral Florida have accepted full mem-bership into the BIG EAST while BoiseState and San Diego State will compete asmembers in the sport of football. The BIGEAST Conference Board of Directors, bya unanimous vote of its Presidents, extend-ed the invitations for membership. SMU,Houston and UCF will begin competing inall BIG EAST-sponsored sports in the2013-14 academic year, while Boise Stateand San Diego State will start competingin football in the 2013 season.

"Over the last 32 years, the BIG EASTConference has constantly evolved alongwith the landscape of college athletics,"said BIG EAST Commissioner JohnMarinatto. "The inclusion of these fivegreat universities, which bring a uniqueblend of premier academics, top markets,strong athletics brands and outstandingcompetitive quality, marks the beginningof a new chapter in that evolution. We areproud to welcome these schools to the BIGEAST family.

"Much like the conference as a whole, theBIG EAST name, though derived 32 yearsago based on the geography of our found-ing members, has evolved into a highlyrespected brand that transcends borders,boundaries or regions. It's national. Ourmembership makeup is now reflective ofthat."

The five new schools join Cincinnati,Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers and USFas the teams competing in football in theBIG EAST Conference and UCF, Houstonand SMU join DePaul, Georgetown,Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, St.John's, Seton Hall and Villanova in allother sports. With the addition of the fivenew schools, the BIG EAST will have thelargest footprint of any college footballconference in the nation, with a coast-to-coast presence spanning eight states in fivedifferent regions of the country.

By joining the BIG EAST Conference,SMU continues its push toward becominga top-25 athletic program. On the field ofplay, SMU has been ranked as the topschool in its conference for 11 of the last14 years in the Director's Cup overall ath-letic rankings. From an infrastructurestandpoint, SMU has embarked on an $80-

4 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

Copyright 2011 Sports Page Weekly, Inc. All rights reserved. The Sports PageWeekly is published every week on Thursdays. Views expressed in TheSports Page Weekly are not necessarily the opinion of The Sports PageWeekly, its staff or advertisers. The Sports Page Weekly does not knowinglyaccept false or misleading editorial content or advertising, nor is The SportsPage Weekly responsible for the content or claims of any advertising or edito-rial in this publication. No content (articles, photographs, graphics) in TheSports Page Weekly may be used for reproduction without permission fromthe publisher.

The SportsPage Weekly is available free of charge, limited to one copy perreader. Additional copies of The SportsPage Weekly may be purchased for$1.00, payable at The SportsPage Weekly’s office in advance. TheSportsPage Weekly may be distributed only by The SportsPage Weekly’sauthorized independent contractors or The SportsPage Weekly’s authorizeddistributors. No person may, without prior written permission of TheSportsPage Weekly, take more than one copy of each SportsPage Weeklyissue.

AROUND THE AREASMU TO BIG EAST

STARSTIME FOR NHL REALIGNMENT

FISHERTY THE NEXT RASHARD LEWIS?

GOLFGETTING A LEG UP

FOOTBALL NO PERFECT SYSTEM FOR BCS

COVER STORYBIG 12 HOOPS PREVIEW

SPORTS SHORTSTOO MANY WHAT-IFS FOR COWS

DININGTHE LAKES AT CASTLE HILLS

THE TICKET WINDOWEVAN GRANT WITH NORM

BAR & TUBE

December 9-15, 2011Volume 10, Issue 17

spor tspagedfw.com

4

5

7

8

9

10

12

16

19

To advertise in The Sports Page, Call the contacts above or 214.683.1469For editorial comments/suggestions, [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook

twitter.com/spweekly

facebook.com/sportspageweekly

Publisher / FounderDan [email protected]

Editor /Art Director/Staff WriterScott [email protected]

VP of Business DevelopmentChad Floyd(214) [email protected]

Contributing WritersKate Delaney, Mike Fisher, Dic Humphrey, Tom Ward, BoCarter, Mike Kravik, ToddKauffman

Cover PhotographyPatrick Meredith

Contact UsMain Number (214) 683-1469P.O. Box 820813Dallas, Tx. 75382

LOCAL HAPPENINGSAROUND THE AREA

SMU announces move to Big East

WEEKLY CALENDAR

Giantsat

Cowboys7:00

NBC 5

Stars at

Rangers6:00 pmFSSW

Starsat

Islanders6:00 pmFSSW

Americansat

Oilers7:35 pm

Starsat

Kings9:30 pmTXA 21

Americansat

Mavericks7:05 pm

DECEMBER

9FRI

DECEMBER

10SAT

DECEMBER

11SUN

DECEMBER

12MON

DECEMBER

13TUES

DECEMBER

14WED

DECEMBER

15THURS

million plan to build new facilities andimprove existing ones. The $13-million,43,000 square-foot Crum BasketballCenter, a basketball-only practice facilityadjacent to Moody Coliseum, opened inFebruary 2008, and the Turpin TennisStadium opened in April of the same year.Phase I of the SMU Payne Stewart GolfLearning Center at the Dallas Athletic Clubwas completed in 2010 and updates to theLoyd Center, which houses coaches offices,athletic administration, sports medicine,strength and conditioning and academicsupport services, have been made. A newintegrated video and audio system wasinstalled at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in 2010,and a renovated football locker room andteam meeting rooms, along with new stadi-um turf, were completed prior to the 2011season. Renovations to Moody Coliseum,which began in 2008 with the installation ofa new $900,000 video board and redesignedcourt, will ramp up in the coming year asSMU has announced a $40-million-plusplan for a complete facility renovation andexpansion expected to be completed in timefor SMU's first season in the BIG EAST.

Academically, SMU's new conference fea-tures six schools ranked among the top 82universities in U.S. News' 2012 ranking ofBest National Universities. At No. 62, SMUranks fourth among all BIG EAST schoolsin the category.

In adding SMU and the Dallas-Fort Worthtelevision market, the nation's fifth-largest,the BIG EAST Conference further strength-ens its media presence. BIG EAST marketsalready contain almost one-fourth of all tel-evision households in the United States -more than twice as many households as anyother conference. BIG EAST institutionswill now reside in four of the nation's top-five media markets, six of the top 10 and 12of the top 35. Cities like Dallas, Houston,

Chicago, New York, Philadelphia andWashington, D.C., all fall in the BIG EASTfootprint.

"Our move to the BIG EAST is good forSMU, for Dallas and for this region of thecountry and reflects the reemergence of oursuccessful football program under the lead-ership of June Jones," said SMU PresidentR. Gerald Turner. "Coupled with our steadyrise academically and athletically, we are ina good position to continue our rise amongnational universities. On top of that, agrassroots effort of our alumni, elected offi-cials and steadfast supporters coast-to-coastgave us the momentum we needed. We lookforward to this new era of competition"

Headquartered in Providence, R.I., the BIGEAST Conference was formed in 1979. Theleague has won 31 national championshipsin six sports with 133 student-athletes cap-turing individual national titles.Specifically for football, the BIG EAST isan automatic qualifier (AQ) to the BowlChampionship Series (BCS), meaning theleague champion is assured a berth in oneof the five BCS bowl games on an annualbasis. Those bowls include the Fiesta Bowl,Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl andthe BCS National Championship game.

In men's and women's basketball, BIGEAST teams have excelled at the highestlevels, winning 14 national championships.In 2004, Connecticut men's and women'steams both won NCAA titles in the sameseason.

"This is a great day for SMU," said Directorof Athletics Steve Orsini. "This is a movethat will impact all aspects of the collegiateexperience at SMU. Our move to the BIGEAST will help us increase our exposureand visibility and will raise SMU's profileon a national level.

Cover photo: Matthew Minard/BaylorMarketing & Communications

Page 5: The Sports Page Weekly

spor tspagedfw.com | The Sports Page | December 9-15, 2011 5

DALLAS STARSHOCKEY

Stars’ owner gets re-alignment in his first week After just a handful ofdays on the job, Gagliardi puts Stars inbetter geographical position.

by RICHARD S. POLLAK, The HOCKEYATTITUDESPECIAL [email protected]

New Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi hasdone in one week what the two previousfumble bump owners couldn't do in 17 sea-sons! The Stars will finally be in a new divi-sion with a Midwestern favor and withmuch more favorable travel distances. Thenew alignment (subject to the Coyotesremaining in Phoenix not Quebec) will seeour Stars competing against all Eastern andCentral time zone opponents in a New 8team conference.

FANS WANT TO SEE THE LEAFS!"8000 Toronto Maple Leaf fans in

Dallas,Texas,can't be wrong," according toBruce Levine,studio host for the DallasStars on KTXA Television and The TicketRadio broadcasts. We needed realignment

and needed it now! It was great to sit in thePress Box for the first time all season with afull house just like in the good old dayswhen Jeff Cogen packed the AmericanAirtlines Center with 221 consecutive sellout crowds. Unfortunately, it wasn't becausethe Stars are leading the Pacific or there’s anNBA strike. It was because the visiting teamwas the Toronto Maple Leafs and hockeyfans were excited to see someone else comeinto the AAC Building besidesCalgary,Phoenix and San Jose. There are somany more hockey fans in Dallas that hailfrom the Midwest and Eastern time zones toattend Stars games than on the west coast orwestern Canada. It's ridiculous,"The DallasStars have played Toronto only 6 times andPhoenix 52 times," according to DallasStars GM Joe Niewendyk. We are also guar-anteed to see the Top Stars of the NHL likeCrosby,Ovechkin and Brodeur at least onetime per season, each and every season atthe American Airlines Center.

BRAND NEW PLAYOFFS FORMATAlong with a new conference alignment

will come a new playoff format designed tokeep natural rivalries playing against eachother during the first two rounds of the play-

offs. The top four teams in each Conferencewill qualify for the playoffs. The first-placeteam in each conference would play thefourth-place team in the same conference;the second-place team would play the third-place team.

The four respective Conference champi-ons would meet in the third round, with thesurvivors playing for the Stanley Cup.The makeup of the yet-to-be-named fourconferences is as follows:

* New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, NewYork Rangers, New York Islanders,Washington and Carolina

* Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa,Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay

* Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis,Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and Winnipeg

* Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose,Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado

Dallas fans must praise new owner TomGaglardi for finally bringin us Re-align-ment!

SLAPSHOTS:

CONGRATS TO KIRK:I mention the naming of Kirk Muller as thenew head coach of the Carolina Hurricanesbecause he was my top choice to be the nextDallas Stars head coach after MarcCrawford. Muller is a player's coach ,just aswe are finding out about our own new StarsCoach,Glen Gulutzan.The Stars are buyinginto his system unlike taskmaster MarcCrawford who unsuccessfully tried to for 2years to institute a antiquated style of play.Unknown to most of the Stars followers,there was a revolt of the veterans of the teamboth in the locker room and on the iceagainst Crawford. How else does a teamslide from 1st place to not making the play-offs in 4 short weeks.

It was a known fact in the Press Box thatCaptain Brendan Morrow "made efforts" tohave the soft spoken,squeaky voiced niceguy on the outside Crawford , (who was araging antagonist inside the locker room)replaced

Page 6: The Sports Page Weekly

6 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

DALLASvs

NY GIANTSSUN. 3:00 pm

NEW ENGvs

WASHSUN. NOON

White RockSports Bar & Grill12

HDTV’s• Billiards

• Shuffleboard

• Karaoke

Happy Hour M-F 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

Food Serveduntil 2 a.m., Breakfast

Sat/Sun starting @ 8 a.m.

718 N. Buckner Blvd #108 • Dallas, TX 75218

214-321-6979

TTexas Monthly Pick (Dec. 201exas Monthly Pick (Dec. 2011)1)One of the Best Places for Breakfast!

Available at Select locations:Addison

Henderson Ave Main Street

Page 7: The Sports Page Weekly

spor tspagedfw.com | The Sports Page | December 9-15, 2011 7

Mavericks’ free agent centercan define his legacy.

Follow the Fish on twitter at @FishSports and at

www.DallasBasketball.com.

by Mike FisherF I S [email protected]

Tyson Chandler's in the Bay Area and just got to meetJoe Montana! Caron Butler just rode a stretch limo into theBulls' HQ! It's all very exciting, and the temptation for atitle team like the Mavs is to 'just pay 'em.' But let's exam-ine TY specifically and why the NBA threatens to turnChandler into The Next Rashard Lewis. ... while I'd ratherhe be The Next Manu.

Coming off a title, and with the opportunity to try todefend it, should the Mavs pay TY whatever he wishes?Here's one key reason why they simply can't afford to “justpay the man.'' And it isn't about tax rules or Cuban's wal-let.

The reality is, in every player's mind, the Mavs' payrollwill imply the makeup of the team. By paying TY max ornear-max money, you've re-designated it as a two-starteam, Dirk-TY plus support from a bunch of talented oth-ers. But if he stays in Dallas on a $10M deal, it's one-starDirk, and a bunch of excellent non-stars all doing theirthing together.

MAVS SHOULDN’T OFFER THE MAXThat doesn't stop TY from pursuing the $20.3 mil a year

he might think he's worth. But he shouldn't get that con-tract from the Mavs.

In the case of Dallas, I don't think re-casting Chandleras the co-star alongside Dirk is an accurate ranking. In2010-11 Chandler was a 27 mpg guy with almost nooffensive game except for dunking alley-oops. While hiscontribution last season as the Mavs won their first cham-pionship was vital, Kidd's was, too. And Jet's, andMarion's, and Haywood's.

But if you have to, why not force it and pay him any-way, and have one really solid contributor be paid as if he'sa star?

Unfortunately, that will create hidden problems unlesshe's truly a peer to Dirk. Obviously it messes up the pay-roll ... shatters the structure, really. It might mess up theroster, too, if what it takes to ink Chandler is the dumping

of other important pieces (like Big Wood). But it alsomakes fan expectations on his play and contribution soar.And most importantly, team chemistry sours a bit aseveryone who has taken a bit less to fit into a team-styledpayroll now gets a slap in the face for their sacrifice.

From every angle, all will demand more from him forall the extra money, and unless you think he's truly a peer

to Dirk, that's more than he's going to be able to deliver.Now he has to play 36 mpg to justify his co-star salary, not27 mpg, and he breaks down. He has to score like a starand he can't create shots.

You've created a monster. A negative monster.

With inflated expectations, he becomes "worthless"next to his contract and he gets regarded as a bum. If hegets injured, it gets even worse. You don't want that onyour payroll.

It's called Rashard Lewis.

Or he can take the contract that fits into the team struc-ture that allows the team to work together for more titles.And his play would continue to be appreciated as he'sexpected to be himself, and no more.

Then he would be Manu Ginobili.

Lewis is the possessor of a $118-million contract thathas two years to go. He'll make $21.1 mil this year and$22.7 mil next year and be one of the two highest-paidplayers in the NBA.

And in part because of that, Rashard Lewis is a punch-line.

"You sign me to a deal, you think I'm going to say, 'No,I deserve $50 [million] instead of $80 [million]?','' Lewisrecently told ESPN. "I'm like, 'Hell, yeah.' I'm not going toturn it down. You can't blame the players. If anything, wedon't negotiate the deal. We've got agents that negotiate thedeals with the team. Y'all need to go talk to the teams andthe agents."

OK. Now, you COULD'VE said "no.'' Some have. TakeManu, who in 2010 signed a three-year extension of hisrelatively modest contract to earn $11 mil, $12 mil and$14 mil. Why? To be part of a title team. But Rashard, youdidn't, so Rashard, I AM talking to the team -- to the Mavs.And I AM saying "no.''

A team shouldn't base all its decisions on which side(player or team) has leverage at a certain moment. That'snot "planning.'' That's not "stable.'' And that's not "AssetManagement,'' and you know how we feel about that.Haywood, Marion, Kidd and even Dirk are all playingunder contracts that are fair and that fit. Structure mattersbecause it helps you to be sure that a) you can have a fullbarrel of talent, b) everyone on the team will feel like theirdeal is "fair" in comparison to everyone else's, and c) itmakes it easier to sell the next prospective Mav that every-one who plays here is willing to do so on a "fair" deal.

Or he can take the contract that fits into the team struc-ture that allows the team to work together for more titles.And his play would continue to be appreciated as he'sexpected to be himself, and no more. Then he would beManu Ginobili.

Tyson Chandler is a fine person and a fine player and achampion due for a payday. What else does TysonChandler want to be ... Rashard or Manu?

We'll learn the answer this week. And as the Mavs strivefor "Asset Management,'' Tyson Chandler may learn a lotabout himself in the process.

SPORTS TALK WITH MIKE FISHERTHE FISH

Tyson Chandler: the next Rashard Lewis?

Page 8: The Sports Page Weekly

8 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

Open Every Day124 East Worth Street

Historic Downtown Grapevine817.481.4668

esparzastexas.com

WE HAVETICKETS!

214-683-1469

RANGERSCONCERTSAND MORE!

CALL US!

TICKETMAX

by Tom WardS PE C IAL CO NTR I BUTO R

As this year comes to a close and you’vebattled with some inconsistencies in yourgame that have left you less than pleasedwith your efforts, I have a drill that mighthelp remedy your issues. If you’re tryingto get a leg up on your competition for2012 I believe I have your answer. Thisdrill may look and feel awkward to youinitially, however the overall payoff ifyou spend some time practicing it is wellworth while.

As seen in the accompanying photo-graphs are two images of myself makinga swing with my right leg off the ground.I usually do this drill when I perform mygolf exhibitions around the world andpeople get a kick out of it thinking it’s atrick shot. It really isn’t so much a trickshot, I tell them, as it showcases theimportance of staying balanced and hav-ing a good solid foundation on which tosupport your swing. When you lift yourleg off the ground( left or right) you’reactivating your body to stabilize itself.

When you try this exercise for the firsttime it will become immediately apparentto you if you have too much lateralmotion in your swing or what is com-monly called swaying. You’ll probablylose your balance going back and won’teven be able to make a completed swing.Another scenario might be if you trypicking the club up too abruptly and tak-ing it back to the outside or too steep onyour backswing as this will draw you offbalance as well. The beauty of this exer-cise is that you can’t cheat it. Once youcome to the realization that you weremaking some improper moves that werewreaking havoc in your swing you’ll

soon come to see the benefits are plenti-ful once you get past the obvious awk-wardness of the drill.

First, by having your leg raised slightlyoff the ground as you take your setup ifyou just allow the club to go back on itsnatural inside path on your takeawayyou’ll see and feel that you’re automati-cally going to maintain balance. You’renot fighting the laws of physics now so

your club head can make its way on thecorrect swing plane relative to your par-ticular physical build. Secondly, in thiscase your left leg provides a solid fixedfoundation that makes your leg stayflexed and braced, instead of locking orstraightening up. This is critical becauseif your left leg locks up this will throwyour whole body off kilter and you’ll belike a wobbly wheel out of control.Having your left leg flexed on your initialsetup is one of the essential keys for suc-cess in pulling off this drill. Checkout myleft leg on my setup over the ball. I knowyou can’t see how much knee flex I have

because of my pants, but I promise youit’s there. Next, by hitting shots on oneleg it will help to limit or slightly restrictyou from getting too long in your back-swing or what’s called over swinging.Over swinging is a chronic problem I seea lot of golfers battle on a daily basisbecause it causes breakdowns in yourmechanics. I will discuss over-swingingin a future article.

The downswing is where the dividends ofyour discipline of this drill pays off. Thephoto on the right is my follow-throughand when done properly you should beable to finish in perfect balance long afterthe ball has left your clubface. Yourshoulders will remain more passivebecause you’re in balance and this willallow your arms to whip the club headthrough the impact area with lightningspeed. This, in turn, translates into pow-erful shots. By not allowing your left legto lock up going back you’ve created aspring like effect governing your lowerbody to create a dynamic pulling effect

on the downswing. This helps to keepyour left hip from prematurely spinningout and assists you in maintaining thecorrect degree of balance in your swing.You can alternate legs when practicingand you’ll notice quickly which leg iseasier to stay balanced on throughoutyour entire swing. I would spend moretime practicing on the weaker leg to buildstrength which we become a real asset inthe long run. Usually, when you first startto make swings on one leg you’re goingto top the ball or miss it completely.Don’t get discouraged just relax a littleand slow your swing down and practicemaking swings in slow motion withouttrying to hit a ball at all. This will allowyour natural athletic instinctsto take over.

Swinging on one leg will help you feelhow your arms must swing around yourbody instead of trying to lift the club upand down. This somewhat restrictivemotion on your backswing will help yousee and feel how your arms work in uni-son with the rest of your body, like a per-fect lever system. You play great golf byfeel, and you learn feel through the prop-er motion. Golf is a game of fluid move-ments, not a series of abrupt actions.

Finally, I believe you’ll come to enjoypracticing this particular drill. Whoknows how often, but in the coming yearyou will probably be faced with anassortment of awkward shots on thecourse and be forced to hit your ballusing an off balance approach. After youput some time in hitting balls on one leg,I don’t think anything or anyone is goingto intimidate you anymore in the comingyear.

Tom Ward can be reached at www.tee-timewithtom.com

WITH TOM WARDGOLF

Getting a leg up on your competition in 2012

Page 9: The Sports Page Weekly

spor tspagedfw.com | The Sports Page | December 9-15, 2011 9

OKLAHOMA STATE AND THEIR FANSFEELING SLIGHTED BY BCS.

by DIC HUMPHREYSPECIAL [email protected]

The BCS Championship game pairingswere set this week, and once again contro-versy surrounds the selection. LSU willface Alabama in a re-match of the teams'November 5 tilt that resulted in a 9-6 over-time win for the Tigers. Left out in thecold are the Oklahoma State Cowboys,who matched Alabama's 11-1 regular sea-son record, won their conference champi-onship (unlike Alabama), beat more teamswith winning records than Alabama, beatmore ranked teams than Alabama, andwhose lone loss came on the road in twoovertimes, unlike Alabama who lost athome.

THE ARGUMENT AGAINST A PLAYOFFThe slight to Oklahoma State has renewedthe cry for a playoff in college football.There seems to be the media bias toward aplayoff, but the thought here is that the cur-rent system really works pretty well. Therecertainly is some tweaking that should bedone, but the end result is that college foot-ball in the FBS (formerly known asDivision 1-A) gets a worthy championevery year. Does anyone really believeLSU should not be in the championshipgame this year, and if they win, does any-one doubt they are worthy of being namedNational Champions?

Historically, the college football nationalchampion has been predicated on the regu-lar season. There was a time when thefinal poll was taken after the regular seasonwith the national champion crowned beforethe bowl games were played. PresidentNixon attended the “Big Shootout” inFayetteville to present a trophy naming thewinner of that game between Arkansas andTexas as the 1969 National Champion.

BOWLS NEVER USED TO MATTERThis was the last regular season game forboth teams and the award was made with-out consideration of the ensuing bowlresults. The bowl games were thought of

as an exhibition game - a reward in theform of a nice trip for the better teams.There actually was a time when coachesplayed younger players in bowl games toget a look at them for the following season. That is really the beauty of college foot-ball. Every game counts. There are no

“do-overs” if a team stubs its toe.

Oklahoma State undoubtedly would be fac-ing LSU in the championship game if theyhad finished 12-0. They finished 11-1though, and effectively lost the opportunityto play for the National Championship on aFriday night in Ames, Iowa. They are notgetting a “do-over” through a college foot-ball playoff.

WOULD A PLAYOFF EVEN BE FAIR?Proponents of a playoff system campaignfor an eight- to 16-team playoff. Forstarters, the representatives of the six con-ferences with automatic BCS bowl bidswould each send a representative, whomthis year would include LSU 13-0,Oklahoma State 11-1, Oregon 10-2,Wisconsin 11-2, Clemson 10-2, and WestVirginia 9-3. What if West Virginia caughtfire and won three playoff games? Wouldcollege football interests be better servedwith a three loss champion as opposed to

the winner of LSU and Alabama? Therehave been years when the conference rep-resentatives have gone to BCS bowls withmore than three losses. Dealing in teamswith so many losses is not the answer toteams like TCU that was undefeated lastyear getting left out.

The current system worked perfectly in the2005 season. Texas and Southern Cal werethe only undefeated teams, clearly thenumber one and number two teams in thenation. They played a marvelous game,and there was no question that Texas wasthe National Champion when the game,which some believe to be the game of thecentury so far, was completed.

That is not to say that the system doesn'tneed tweaking. Including the coaches' pollto comprise one-third of the BCS formulafor ranking the teams is preposterous.Nick Saban had a vote. He for sure votedAlabama ahead of Oklahoma State, whichhe voted fourth instead of third. It's a won-der he voted for Oklahoma State at all inorder to lessen the Cowboys' chances ofcatching Bama in the BCS ranking.

PETERSON EXPOSES HYPOCRISYBoise State's Chris Peterson was very can-

did about his vote, indicating that he wasvoting for what was best for Boise State.He placed the Broncos fifth on his ballot inan effort to boost his team's chances forgetting a bid to a lucrative BCS bowl. Theone blemish on his record was a loss toTCU. He voted the Horned Frogs 18th inan effort to lessen TCU's chances of catch-ing Boise State in the BCS rankings.Clearly the coaches whose incomes andpossibly even their jobs may hinge on theoutcome of the BCS rankings should notbe involved in the process to rank theteams for BCS bowl berths.The other tweak that is gaining somemomentum is the “plus one”. There aremany proposed formats, but basically whenthe dust clears from all the bowls beingplayed, the two best teams remaining willplay one more game to decide the NationalChampion. This would have pitted Auburnand TCU a year ago. Even this formula isflawed though. One possibility has basi-cally a playoff among the top four rankedteams, with number one playing four andtwo playing three in semi-final games, andthe two winners playing for the National Championship.

In 2005, the third and fourth teams in theBCS rankings were Ohio State and PennState each with one loss. With such a for-mat, those two teams could have beatenTexas and Southern Cal and met in thechampionship game instead of the game ofthe century we actually saw.

IN THE END, NO PERFECT SOLUTIONThe long and the short is that there is noperfect formula that would fit all the cir-cumstances that could arise. In the endthough, the top level of college footballgets a very good team named NationalChampion, a team that wins the crown bybeing good over the course of the full sea-son. A playoff system would not onlylessen the import of the regular season, butwill not assure a better champion. Indeed,a playoff could produce absolute duds forchampionship games.

Fortunately for college football fans,despite the cry from the media; collegepresidents are resisting a playoff system forthe FBS!

NCAAFOOTBALL

In the end, there may not be perfect system

CATCH ALL OF OUR TWEETS! POST COMMENTS ON ALL STORIES!

WWW.SPORTSPAGEDFW.COM

Page 10: The Sports Page Weekly

10 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

NCAA HOOPSCOVER STORY

CAN ANYONE CHALLENGE THE HEAVY-WEIGHTS FROM LST SEASON?

by SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR

Baylor picked to win the Big 12 and project-ed to be a Final Four team? Kansas is notranked in the top 5, not even the top 10? Isthis the Big 12 (or 10)? Wow....Texas andKansas, the typical anchors of Big 12 men’sbasketball have taken a back seat to Baylorand Texas A&M. Oklahoma and OklahomaState have had decent runs in the past ashave Kansas State and Missouri, however, itappears that Baylor has a stronghold on the2011-2012 run. In fact, this year is the firsttime in recent memory that the Big 12Men’s basketball teams are close to parity from top to bottom.

Baylor, Kansas, Texas A&M and Missouriare all ranked in the top 25, with Baylor sit-ting at number 6 as of press time. Texas lost5 starters from last years squad and are notin the top 25, you can’t count them outthough as there is some talent waiting inline. Iowa State, Kansas State andOklahoma State could be included in theMarch tournament run if they stay healthyand pull off an upset here and there. Also,Billy Clyde Gillespie at Texas Tech couldpossible create some problems if his talent-ed group of Juco newcomers come togetherquickly. Needless to say, this season will befun to watch as it will probably not finishout as everyone expects. Here's our look atthe Big 12 teams in order of where they'llfinish in the conference.

10. OKLAHOMA SOONERSNew head coach Lon Kruger takes over ateam with four returning starters, whichsounds great until you remember this teamwon only five conference games last season.They finished with a mediocre 14-18 overallrecord. Kruger, hired away from UNLV, isknown nationally for his ability to turn pro-

grams around, but it looks as though hewon’t have enough horses in the stable tomake a push in the Big 12 race.

Keep An Eye On:Junior F Andrew Fitzgerald

The 6'8" big man ranked second on the teamwith 12.6 PPG and scored 15 points or more12 times. He’ll need to channel his innerBlake Griffin on both sides of the ball if theSooners are to land in postseason play.

Jordan Tolbert. Photo: Texas Tech Athletics Communications.

9. TEXAS TECHEx-Texas A&M head coach Billy Gillespieis back in the coaching ranks after flamingout at Kentucky and assisting as theWildcats missed the NCAA tournament forthe first time in 17 years. He did a master-ful job of turning around programs at UTEPand Texas A&M, however, and Tech ADKirby Hocutt is hoping two tough seasons inLexington haven’t derailed Gillespie’smojo. The cupboard lies bare in Lubbockwith only one returning starter, forwardRobert Lewandowski. The Red Raiderswill rely on major development fromLewandowski and Jay Crockett as well ascontributions from junior college transfers.

Keep An Eye On:

Junior G Ty Nurse

Nurse averaged 9.1 PPG and shot 53 percentfrom three-point range last year at MidlandCollege. He led the Chaparrals to a 63-7record in two seasons. He’s known for hisleadership and game management and willbe running the Red Raider show.

8. KANSAS STATEHead coach Frank Martin and the Wildcatsreturn three starters from a team that fin-ished third in the conference last season, butthe Cats will have to find a new identity inthe wake of Jacob Pullen’s departure. “TheBeard” helped K-State to the Elite Eight in2010, and his production and leadership willhave to be replaced for Martin’s squad tosucceed. Look for the Wildcats to buildtheir identity around tenacious defense,anchored by seven-footer JordanHenriquez’s patrol of the paint.

Keep An Eye On:Junior G Rodney McGruder

While starting all 34 games last sason, the6'4" McGruder became the shortest playerin school history to lead the team inrebounds (202). His 11.1 PPG were goodfor second on the team behind Pullen, andhe’ll need to boost his scoring even more forthe Wildcats to scare anyone in the Big 12.

7. OKLAHOMA STATELast year, guard Keiton Page led the Big 12in free throws (63-of-68) and free throw per-centage (89.4). The career 36 percent three-point shooter will need scoring andrebounding assistance following the depar-tures of Marshall Moses and Matt Pilgrim.

Thankfully for the Pokes, they landed one ofthe offseason’s most sought after prizes,Le’Bryan Nash. He is a top 10 nationalrecruit. Jean-Paul Olukemi and MichaelCollins will tandem with Nash to form afrontcourt that is high on length and versa-

tility but lacking in size and interiorstrength.

Keep An Eye On:Freshman G/F Le’Bryan Nash

Nash, the No. 2 small forward and No. 6overall player in the country, averaged 22PPG and 8.7 RPG last year for Lincoln HighSchool (Dallas) and draws comparisons toRon Artest. He’s got an NBA frame and aquick first step that should allow him to winthe Big 12’s Newcomer of the Year award.

6. NO. 10 MISSOURIThe Tigers were poised to return five play-ers who all averaged double digits in scoringlast season, but the knee injury to startingforward Lawrence Bowers brings that totaldown to four. Still, Mizzou returns the coreof a team that has won 77 games over thepast three years, the best three-year run inschool history. If the Tigers can find consis-tent guard play to match their front line ofRicardo Ratcliff, Steve Moore and KadeemGreen, they could be a force to be reckonedwith. Sophomore point guard Phil Pressleyled all Big 12 freshmen with 61 steals lastseason and provides a defensive intensitythat was matched only by Bowers.

Keep An Eye On:Senior G Marcus Denmon

A 2011 All-Big 12 First Teamer, Dennonfinished the season strongly by scoring atleast 19 points in seven of his last nine com-petitions. If Mizzou makes a strong play forthe conference title, Denmon will be in thediscussion for Big 12 Player of the Year.

5. IOWA STATEThere’s nowhere to go but up for theCyclones, who finished last in the Big 12with a 3-13 conference record. But headcoach Fred Hoiberg steered his club to a 16-16 overall record, the first time ISU finished.500 or better since 2005-06. Last year’s

Baylor? Kansas? A Big 12 basketball preview

Page 11: The Sports Page Weekly

spor tspagedfw.com | The Sports Page | December 9-15, 2011 11

team was marred by player ineligibility, asfour transfers who figured to contributewere relegated to a full season on the bench. Their presence, especially that of ex-Michigan State point guard Chris Allen,should keep the Cyclones in the middle ofthe pack.

Keep An Eye On:Senior G Scott Christopherson

Last season, point guard Diante Garretttook 518 shots, good for 26 percent of IowaState’s total field goal attempts.Christopherson and his lifetime .437 three-point percentage (good for second in theBig 12) will mitigate Garrett’s vacancy.

4. TEXASHead coach Rick Barnes, like his counter-part on the football field, is one of the bestrecruiters in college basketball. He’llweather the mass exodus of talent in losingall five of last season’s starters with thearrival of eight newcomers, all highly desir-able high school talents. Guard J’CovanBrown will feature prominently in theLonghorns’ offensive game plan. He scored10.4 PPG coming off the bench last yearand has averaged 21.4 PPG in three NCAAtournament contests.

Keep An Eye On:Freshman G Myck KabongoThe No. 2 point guard in the class of 2011,Kabongo will be given the reins from dayone. He plays with great speed and moxieand is a pass-first play-maker of the highestcaliber.

3. NO. 22 TEXAS A&MThe Aggies have undergone a tumultuous12-month span. Their beloved head coach,Mark Turgeon, fled for greener grass atMaryland. His hired replacement, BillyKennedy, was then diagnosed withParkinson’s disease. Now, the onus forreadying the team for a long season hasbefallen assistant coach Glenn Cyprien.Thankfully, the roller coaster stops there asTexas A&M returns the majority of last sea-son’s 24-9 squad. Junior Khris Middletonand senior David Loubeau comprise one ofthe conference’s best forward duos, andfreshman Jamaal Branch (No. 9 point guardin the nation) will aid senior Dash Harris inball distribution duties.

Keep An Eye On:Junior G Elston Turner.After transferring from the University ofWashington, Turner was ruled ineligible toplay last season. He’s taken the year toimprove his already lethal shot. A 38 per-cent shooter from the three-point line,Elston could be the surprise leading scorerfor the Aggies this season.

2. NO. 13 KANSASDespite finishing the season 35-3 and win-ning the Big 12 title, Lawrence, Kansas

shook its head in disappointment as itsbeloved Jayhawks were bounced in theNCAA tournament by an unheralded VCUteam. Losing star forwards (and brothers)Marcus and Markieff Morris to the NBAhurts their front line depth, but head coachBill Self will lean heavily on returning sen-ior guard Tyshawn Taylor. They shouldfind a way to March Madness for the 23rdconsecutive season, currently the longestactive streak in the nation.

Keep An Eye On:Junior F Thomas Robinson

If Robinson can fill the void left by theMorris twins, Kansas could win its eighthstraight regular season title. Robinson aver-aged 7.6 PPG and 6.4 RPG last year whileplaying only 14.6 minutes per contest. If hecan replicate those numbers with addedplaying time, he’ll be a shoo-in for First-Team All-Big 12.

Perry Jones III (Photo: Matthew Binard/Baylor Mktg & Comm)

1. NO. 6 BAYLOR

The 2011 Baylor Bears could be a televi-sion sitcom called “Perry and the Quincys.”

Arguably the strongest frontcourt in thenation, the tandem of forwards Perry JonesIII, Quincy Acy and Quincy Miller will ter-rorize every team in the Big 12. The Bearsbring more talent to the table than any in theconference and, with the exit of ball-hog-ging guard LaceDarius Dunn opening upthe floor for Jones to run wild, the Bearscould sprint to the national title conversa-tion in no time.

Keep An Eye On:Sophomore F Perry Jones III

Expectations are sky-high for the lanky6'11" Jones after being named the presea-son Big 12 Player of the Year by theleague’s coaches. Jones has a legitimateshot at winning the National Player of theYear award, being chosen as a First-TeamAll-American and garnering the top spot inthe 2012 NBA draft.

Page 12: The Sports Page Weekly

12 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

Bailey and Garrett taking a beatingafter loss t Cardinals

By Kate DelaneyS PE C IAL CO NTR I BUTO [email protected]

BAILEY BOOTS EM' RIGHT THROUGH THEUPRIGHTS EVERY TIME - ER.....

We kicked off last week's column talkingabout Cowboy field goal machine DanBailey and here we are again - only thistime it's about a miss. We've seen Cowboycoaches in the past “ice” the kicker, inother words call a time out right beforeyour opponent has a shot at making thegame winning field goal, but never freez-ing their own guy.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what hap-pened when Jason Garrett called for a timeout as Bailey was booting a 49 yard fieldgoal between the uprights for the win overthe Cardinals in regulation. His second trywas short and to the left. Instead, Arizonagets the 19-13 win in OT and everyone

and I mean everyone is questioning whatGarrett was thinking. This could end upbeing the blunder of the season!

GARRETT’S POST-GAME GAFFESAfter the game Garrett explained it thisway, “the play clock was running downand we just wanted to make sure we had areal clean opportunity at it.” Pressed hard-er about how that happened - Garrett actu-ally made play calling sound like RocketScience. First off, with two timeouts leftwhy did Tony Romo clock the ball at theline of scrimmage after Dez Bryant's catchto the 31 yard line? Really, couldn't theyhave run the ball and got Bailey a littlecloser in the first place. Did he tell Romoto spike the ball? The best he could comeup with is he didn't have an answer for thatand the team was trying to work throughthe situation. Calling an immediate time-out would have given Garrett and theCowboys a chance to figure out the strate-gy.

That's the real problem - how many timesin practice do they work through these sit-

uations? Maybe one hundred in Romo'scareer let's say. If Dallas had won theywould have picked up two games on theGiants in the NFC East since New Yorklost its game against the Packers. TheCowboys would have been 8-5 and couldhave won the Division this Sunday night.Oh well no use crying over spilt milk, butOwner Jerry Jones might want to thinkabout hiring an offensive coordinator tohelp Garrett out on the sidelines with situ-ational play calling.

MAVERICKS TIGHT SCHEDULEI'm dizzy just looking at the Maverickssqueezed 66 game schedule! Don't get mewrong, I'll take what I can get and at home

there are plenty of great match-ups. Goodluck getting tickets to the first home gameon Christmas against the Heat. If you missout on the big gloating party againstMiami, try the Nuggets on December26th.

Arguably, the Mavericks have the toughestschedule in the NBA playing the Heat,Celts and Knicks twice and they also havea stretch of five games in six days inMarch. Can you say Red Bull? They alsoplay 22 back to backs and have anotherstretch of three games in three days.

Try 18 games in January including a pairof four game road trips but at least as theteam racks up “virtual” frequent fliermiles plus they'll be getting television cov-erage. You'll be able to watch nine gameson ESPN, eight on TNT, six on NBATVand three on ABC. Game on - this team isready to roll!

Kate Delaney hosts "America Tonight,"which airs from 11p.m. - 2a.m. on KKGM1630AM.

WITH KATE DELANEYSPORTS SHORTS

A story of coulda, woulda, shoulda for Boys

DINING

Upscale dining at the Lakes at Castle Hills by ART [email protected]

The concept of the rushed midway hot dogat the turn or the overcooked hamburgereaten in a pre-golf speed record may neverbe the same with the emergence of execu-tive chef Calbert McDonald and theupscale food at the newly renovated Lakesat Castle Hills golf course.

The course itself, a par 72 Jay Morrishdesign, was reopened in September after anextensive renovation which is leading to itsnew life as a semi-private course whichwill be all private in the future.

But that was only the beginning of therenovation when Jamaican born, classicallytrained and Dallas-based McDonald tookover the food and beverage operations atthe Lewisville golf course.

“We have high standards for The Lakesat Castle Hills; we want to be known ashigh class five-star dining, not just golfcourse food,” McDonald said.

The latest evolution of that goal was

Friday's 5-course Wine Dinner held in theclubhouse, just steps from the 10th tee box.McDonald teamed with local wine expertMichelle Best from Republic NationalDistributing Company for an experienceusually held in North Texas' finest restau-rants miles from the nearest golf option.

Diners, mostly Lakes at Castle Hillsmembers and local media, were treated andgiven wines from some of the bestCalifornia Pinot Gris to full-bodiedChardonnay and Champagne on ice tocomplement the upscale food.

“I've done a lot of lavish wine dinners,but very few at golf courses,” Best said. “Ialways told people, if you like the wine,then it's good wine. I hate the snobbery inthe wine business. What a person likes is agood wine, it doesn't matter what othersthink.”

After starting off with a Chateau Ste.Michelle Pinot gris, the first course was thePan Seared Breast of Duck, then followedby the Zucchini Scaled Chilean Sea Bassfollowed by a 2010 Chardonnay.

“For these dinners you have to build thepalate to start mellow and build bold,” Bestsaid. “You can never go back; you have tobuild up to the bigger, boldest, most lustywines.”

After the intermission champagne on ice,the final course was the Roasted Veal Chopwith Truffles and Foie Gras followed byanother rich red wine.

The dessert was a chocolate truffle spoontower, followed by more wine. A true gour-met experience no matter if you ever makea three-footer at Castle hills or not.

McDonald has already earned NorthTexas golf honors for Best All-inclusiveBuffet and Best Catered Food. He alsodoes elaborate ice and vegetable sculpturesfor club special events and Sunday dining.

“We think this is just the beginning ofgood things here at The Lakes at CastleHill.”

To be sure there is plenty of the standard“grab and go” items at The Lakes at CastleHills, but one taste of McDonald's golfcourse food allows the golfer to see whatreally happens when 5-Star meets 5-Iron.

For more information, go to go towww.thelakesatcastlehills.com or call 972-899-7400.

Page 13: The Sports Page Weekly

spor tspagedfw.com | The Sports Page | December 9-15, 2011 13

White RockSports Bar& Grill

718 N. Buckner Blvd #108 Dallas, TX 75218

214-321-6979

WWW.JAKESBURGERS.NET1003 Collins St., Arlington www.uptownbarandgrill.com

214-969-9433

2523 mckinney ave.

Poke's Neighborhood

Grill14831 Midway

Rd. Addison 972.385.7653

www.pokesbar.com

1919 SKILLMAN • DALLAS

214-824-1170

HAPPYHOUR11-6

SATURDAY

h u m p e r d i n k s . c o m

2730 Commerce St. 214.698.1511

5645SMU Blvd.214.368.

9212

2470 Walnut Hill LaneDallas, 75220

(214) 351-5383www.thewildturkey.net

2822MCKINNEY

AVENUE

214.969.1984

Addison,Arlington blackfinndallas.com

1/2 price pizzasduring cowboy

games!

THE VILLAGEAT FAIRVIEW

321 TOWN PLACE,FAIRVIEW, 75069

972-549-4200

THESALTCLUB.COM

SPORTS BAR DIRECTORY

703 MCKINNEY AVENUEWWW.DRAFTPICKSDALLAS.COM

6 4 6 5 E . M O C K I N G B I R D L A N E

2 14 . 8 2 6 . 0 11 0

MCKINNEY AVE., LAKE HIGHLANDS,PLANO, ADDISON, CAMP BOWIE,

DOWNTOWN FT. WORTH

OPEN DAILY11 A.M

TO2 A.M.

Cleveland at Pit tsburgh(-13.5)

Kansas City at NY Jets(-9)

Tampa Bay(-1) at Jacksonvi l le

New England(-9) at Washington

Atlanta ( -1 .5) at Carol ina

Indianapol is at Balt imore(-16.5)

Phi ladelphia at Miami(-3)

Minnesota at Detroit ( -7)

New Orleans(-3 .5) at Tennessee

Houston at Cincinnati ( -3)

Chicago at Denver(-3 .5)

San Francisco(-3 .5) at Ar izona

Buffalo at San Diego(-7)

Oakland at Green Bay(-11)

NY Giants at Dal las(-3 .5)

St Louis at Seatt le(pk)

DAN MCVICKER

SCOTT BOYTER

THE REDROOT

VANCEGONZALES

ROGEREMRICH

TRAVISPRICE

RK TEAM RECORD1 LSU 12-02 Alabama 11-13 Oklahoma St 11-14 Stanford 11-15 Virginia Tech 11-16 Houston 12-07 Boise St 10-18 Arkansas 10-29 Oregon 10-210 Oklahoma 9-211 Kansas St 9-212 South Carolina 10-213 Michigan St 10-214 Georgia 10-215 Wisconsin 10-216 Michigan 10-217 Baylor 8-318 TCU 9-219 Nebraska 9-320 Clemson 9-321 Penn St 9-322 Texas 7-423 West Virginia 8-324 Southern Miss 10-225 Missouri 7-5

Pittsburgh

NY Jets

Tampa Bay

New England

Atlanta

Baltimore

Philadelphia

Detroit

New Orleans

Cincinnati

Denver

San Francisco

San Diego

Oakland

NY Giants

Seattle

Cleveland

NY Jets

Jacksonville

Washington

Atlanta

Indianapolis

Philadelphia

Detroit

New Orleans

Houston

Chicago

San Fran

Buffalo

Green Bay

NY Giants

Seattle

Pittsburgh

NY Jets

Tampa Bay

New England

Atlanta

Indy

Philly

Detroit

New Orleans

Houston

Chicago

San Francisco

Buffalo

Green Bay

NY Giants

Seattle

Pittsburgh

NY Jets

Tampa Bay

New England

Atlanta

Baltimore

Miami

Detroit

New Orleans

Houston

Denver

San Francisco

San Diego

Green Bay

Dallas

Seattle

4-12 9-7 6-10 7-9 7-9 7-9105-104(.51) 111-98 (.63) 111-98 (.63) 101-108(.485) 106-105 (.53) 107-102 (.55)RECORD TO DATE

LAST WEEK

GAMES - 12/8-12/12

Each week, we’ll ask some area mediamembers to put their forecasting skills tothe test. This season, TSPW publisher DanMcVicker, Scott Boyter, editor of TSPW, Themysterious Red Root, TSPW columnist VanceGonzales and Roger Emrich, KRLD-AM Sportsand oilman and former Texas Tech widereceiver Travis Price will pick vs. the line.

25THE SPORTS PAGE WEEKLY’S PIGSKIN PROGNOSTICATORS

TOP

Pittsburgh

NY Jets

Tampa Bay

New England

Carolina

Baltimore

Miami

Detroit

New Orleans

Houston

Chicago

San Francisco

San Diego

Green Bay

NY Giants

Seattle

Pittsburgh

NY Jets

Tampa Bay

New England

Atlanta

Baltimore

Miami

Detroit

New Orlens

Houston

Chicago

San Francisco

Buffalo

Green Bay

Dallas

Seattle

Page 14: The Sports Page Weekly

1. ❑ Jacksonville at Atlanta ❑2. ❑ Dallas at Tampa Bay ❑3. ❑ Miami at Buffalo ❑4. ❑ Seattle at Chicago ❑5. ❑ Tennessee at Indianapolis ❑6. ❑ Green Bay at Kansas City ❑7. ❑ Cincinnati at St. Louis ❑8. ❑ New Orleans at Minnesota ❑9. ❑ Washington at NY Giants ❑10. ❑ Carolina at Houston ❑11. ❑ Detroit at Oakland ❑12. ❑ New England at Denver ❑13. ❑ NY Jets at Philadelphia ❑14. ❑ Cleveland at Arizona ❑15. ❑ Baltimore at San Diego ❑16. ❑ Pittsburgh at San Francisco ❑

Tiebreaker (Final score) 49ERSSCORE:

14 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

Win tickets to the2012 Cotton Bowl!

WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WINMake your picks by checking the appropriate boxes.

Each week the best picks win a

$20 GIFT CARDto Humperdinks!

NameAddressCity, State ZIPPhoneE-mail Want to subscribe?

In the event of a tie following the tiebreaker round, the winner will be selcted via a random drawing.Clip out entry and mail to: The Sports PageP.O. Box 820813 Dallas, Tx. 75382e-mail your entry to [email protected], or fax to (972) 248-8187.CONTEST RULESEntry deadline Wed, Nov. 16, at 5 p.m. Employees and family of The Sports Page Weekly not eligible. Only one entry per household. Ties will besettled via tiebreaker. Winner will be announced in the December 25 edition of The Sports Page Weekly. Tickets will be available at Cotton BowlWill-Call. The contest runs from September 6 – December 16, 2011. The tiebreaker will determine the final winner each week. The individual towin the most weekly contests wins the Grand Prize. The winner will be notified on Monday following the respective weekend’s contest.

THIS WEEK’S WINNERSTACY URBAN

DALLAS

Presented by Humperdinks

STEELERSSCORE:

Page 15: The Sports Page Weekly

spor tspagedfw.com | The Sports Page | December 9-15, 2011 15

Page 16: The Sports Page Weekly

16 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

Evan Grant with Norm on the Rangers

Norm Hitzges ShowWeekdays, 10:00 am- Noon

Norm with Evan Grant onTuesday morning:

Norm: Are the chances of theRangers getting C.J. Wilson back gettingbetter?

Evan: Compared to a couple ofweeks ago, yes. I still would put it at lessthan fifty percent. I think that this beingCJ’s one real opportunity to land a longterm contract, I get the gut feeling that heand his agent are deadset at landing the

best possible contract. I don’t think theRangers are going to offer the best possi-ble contract. I think they will be willingto go to five years because that is whatthe market has now determined, but I donot think it will be at the very top dollar.

Norm: Do you believe there is a sixyear contract out there on the table forhim somewhere?

Evan: Not a six year contract at thesame AAV that the five years deal wouldtend to be in. Nobody has offered him sixyears at fifteen million or above. Quitefrankly, the whole idea of the six yearcontract is more negotiating tactic than itis reality. It does not appear that a marketvalue six year contract is realistic for CJ.To be honest though Norm, I really hatethe play by play of contract negotiations.I think it’s very much a fluid situation.

Norm: CJ Wilson is a different per-sonality. For many, he is an acquiredtaste. Is he well liked in the Rangersclubhouse?

Evan: I don’t think I could say he’swell liked. I think he is respected forwhat he has done and the work he has putin as a starting pitcher. He’s a differentpersonality, and there are occasionswhere he doesn’t come across as veryhumble and he says some things that canbe interpreted as me first statements, butthis is not a disliked guy. He has bondedwith his teammates much better eversince he moved into the rotation.

Norm: Do you think this club is trulyinterested in Prince Fielder?

Evan: No I do not. I don’t think thisclub is interested in any 200 million dol-lar investments at this point in time.

Norm: Do you think this club willwant to give Josh Hamilton a long termbig money new contract?

Evan: I think they want to get a feelon if they can get something accom-plished with Josh. It’s a risk. There’s asignificant track record that he’s going tomiss at least a month each year. How his

level of growth and battle with addictionhave progressed will be tested with theabsence of Johnny Narron, but he is sucha talent on the field that I think theRangers will be comfortable bringinghim back on a long term deal if they canfind some common ground with him. Ireally think a much bigger part of thisoffseason, is getting a real sense of whatthe big picture commitments are going tobe to keep the core of this team together.

Norm: Who do you like that is a guywho can play three or four positions, siton the bench, and yet give you a nicesolid major league player on the bench?

Evan: I think there are two for me. Ifyour primary goal is to find a backup forElvis Andrus, then I really like CezarIzturis. If you’re looking for a right hand-ed bat off the bench who can get about200 at-bats and sit on the bench and playmultiple positions, then I think MarkDerosa is really worth the risk, eventhough he’s been hampered with injuriesthe last couple of years.

TICKET WINDOW

Win tickets to the2012 Cotton Bowl!

PRESENTED BY HUMPERDINKS!

Each week the best picks win a

$20 GIFT CARDto Humperdinks!

Presented by Humperdinks

PLAY THECONTEST

ON PAGE 14!

Page 17: The Sports Page Weekly

spor tspagedfw.com | The Sports Page | December 9-15, 2011 17

COLLEGE BOWLS & NFL GAMES DEC. 8-12, 2011THE SPREAD

COLLEGE BOWLS

ARMY 12/10 1:30 PM

NAVY -7.5201 TEMPLE -712/17 1:00 PM

202 WYOMING 203 UTAH ST -312/17 4:30 PM

204 OHIO 205 UL-LAFAYETTE 12/17 7:00 PM

206 SAN DIEGO ST -5207 FLORIDA INT’L -412/20 7:00 PM

208 MARSHALL 209 LA TECH 12/21 7:00 PM 210 TCU -11211 ARIZONA ST. 12/22 7:00 PM

212 BOISE ST -13 213 NEVADA12/24 7:00 PM

214 SOUTHERN MISS -6.5 215 NORTH CAROLINA 12/26 4:00 PM

216 MISSOURI -4 217 WESTERN MICH 12/27 3:30 PM

218 PURDUE -2 219 LOUISVILLLE 12/27 7:00 PM

220 NC STATE -1.5221 TOLEDO -312/28 3:30 PM 222 AIR FORCE 223 CALIFORNIA 12/28 7:00 PM

224 TEXAS -4225 NOTRE DAME 12/29 4:30 PM

226 FLORIDA ST -3227 WASHINGTON U12/29 8:00 PM

228 BAYLOR -9229 TULSA12/30 11:00 AM

230 BYU -2.5 231 RUTGERS -212/30 2:20 PM

232 IOWA ST 233 WAKE FOREST12/30 5:40 PM

234 MISS ST -6.5

235 IOWA12/30 9:00 PM

236 OKLAHOMA -15.5237 TEXAS A&M -9.512/31 11:00 AM

238 NORTHWESTERN 239 UTAH 12/31 1:00 PM

240 GEORGIA TECH -3.5241 UCLA12/31 2:30 PM

242 ILLIONOIS -3 243 CINCINNATI 12/31 2:30 PM

244 VANDERBILT -3 245 VIRGINIA 12/31 6:30 PM

246 AUBURN -1247 PENN ST 1/2 11:00 AM

248 HOUSTON -6 249 MICHIGAN ST 1/2 12:00 PM

250 GEORGIA -3 251 NEBRASKA 1/2 12:00 PM

252 S CAROLINA -1 253 FLORIDA -1.51/2 12:00 PM

254 OHIO ST 255 WISCONSIN 1/2 4:00 PM

256 OREGON -6257 STANFORD 1/2 7:30 PM

258 OKLAHOMA ST -3.5259 MICHIGAN -1.51/3 7:30 PM

260 VIRG TECH 261 WEST VIRGINIA 1/4 7:30 PM

262 CLEMSON -3.5263 KANSAS ST 1/6 7:00 PM

264 ARKANSAS -7265 SMU 1/7 12:00 PM

266 PITTSBURGH -5.5267 ARKANSAS ST -11/8 8:00 PM

268 N. ILLINOIS 269 ALABAMA 1/9 7:30 PM

270 LSU -1

NFL GAMESTHURS 12/8101 CLEVELAND 7:20 PM

102 PITTSBURGH -14SUNDAY, 12/11105 INDIANAPOLIS 12:00 PM 106 BALTIMORE -15 107 HOUSTON 12:00 PM 108 CINCINNATI -3 109 OAKLAND 12:00 PM 110 GREEN BAY -11111 KANSAS CITY 12:00 PM 112 NEW YORK JETS -9113 MINNESOTA 12:00 PM 114 DETROIT -10115 NEW ORLEANS -3.512:00 PM 116 TENNESSEE 117 PHILADELPHIA 12:00 PM 118 MIAMI -3119 NEW ENGLAND -912:00 PM 120 WASHINGTON 121 ATLANTA -2.512:00 PM 122 CAROLINA 123 TAMPA BAY -212:00 PM 124 JACKSONVILLE 125 SAN FRANCISCO -3.53:05 PM 126 ARIZONA 127 CHICAGO 3:05 PM 128 DENVER -3.5129 BUFFALO 3:15 PM 130 SAN DIEGO -6.5131 NEW YORK GIANTS 7:25 PM 132 DALLAS -3.5133 ST. LOUIS7:35

134 SEATTLE -6.5

OPEN CLOSE SCORE OPEN CLOSE SCORE OPEN CLOSE SCORE

W a t c h A l l T h e G a m e s H e r e

2730 Commerce S t ree t• Da l las , Texas 75226Phone 214.698.1511 • www.danc ingmar l in .com

8 - 4 2 ” f l a t s c r e e n s . c o l d b e e r . g r e a t f o o d

We’re looking for

Advertising SalesRepresentatives.Competitive Compensation.Commission .Bonus .Advancement Opportunity

CALL (214) 683-1469

Odds to win

2012 NBA TitleTeam Odds

Heat 2-1Bulls 6-1Mavericks 7-1Thunder 7-1Lakers 7-1Celtics 10-1Spurs 20-1Magic 20-1Knicks 20-1Blazers 25-1Nuggets 30-1Grizzlies 30-1Hornets 40-1Hawks 50-1Clippers 50-176ers 60-1Nets 60-1Warriors 75-1Rockets 100-1Bucks 100-1Pacers 100-1Jazz 100-1Suns 100-1Kings 100-1Bobcats 100-1Wizards 100-1Cavaliers 100-1Pistons 200-1Raptors 200-1Wolves 200-1

Page 18: The Sports Page Weekly

18 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

SSTTAARRSS aatt KKIINNGGSS -- SSAATT 99::3300

GGIIAANNTTSS aatt CCOOWWBBOOYYSS -- SSUUNN 77ppmm11991199 SSkkiillllmmaann SSttrreeeett,, DDaallllaass 7755220066 221144..882244..11117700

LIVE MUSIC FRIDAY & SATURDAY NIGHTS

Text Pokes1 to 70000 forupdates, events, band calendar,

and our mobile offers

Page 19: The Sports Page Weekly

spor tspagedfw.com | The Sports Page | December 2-8, 2011 19

COLLEGE

ALL COLLEGE GAMESDraft Media Sports Lounge400 N. Olive St., Dallas214-777-6524

White Rock Sports Bar & Grill718 N. Buckner Blvd. #108, Dallas214-321-6979

Arkansas1601 N. Central Expressway, Richardson972.690.4867

BaylorBig Al's McKinney Avenue Tavern2822 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214-969-1984

Humperdinks6050 Greenville Ave, Dallas214.368.6597

Florida StateBlackFinn4440 Belt Line Road., Addison469-374-7667

IowaThe Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

KansasBig Al's McKinney Avenue Tavern2822 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214-969-1984

The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

Kansas St.The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

Michigan StateBlackFinn4440 Belt Line Road., Addison469-374-7667

The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

LSUDown Under Pub352 Town Place, Allen469.342.3490

Humperdinks6050 Greenville Ave, Dallas214.368.6597

Humperdinks3820 Beltline Road, Addison972.484.3051

Humperdinks1601 N. Central Expressway, Richardson972.690.4867

Humperdinks700 Six Flags Drive, Arlington817.640.8553

Mississippi StateHumperdinks6050 Greenville Ave, Dallas214.368.6597

Humperdinks1601 N. Central Expressway, Richardson972.690.4867

MissouriThe Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

NebraskaHumperdinks700 Six Flags Drive, Arlington817.640.8553

Ohio StateBig Al's McKinney Avenue Tavern2822 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214-969-1984

BlackFinn4440 Belt Line Road., Addison469-374-7667

OklahomaBig Al's McKinney Avenue Tavern2822 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214-969-1984

Down Under Pub352 Town Place, Allen469.342.3490

Humperdinks6050 Greenville Ave, Dallas214.368.6597

Humperdinks3820 Beltline Road, Addison972.484.3051

Humperdinks2208 W. NW Highway, Dallas214.358.4159

Humperdinks1601 N. Central Expressway, Richardson972.690.4867

Jake’s5505 Belt Line Rd., Dallas972.503.5253www.jakesburger.net

The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

Oklahoma St.The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

Penn St.Angry Dog2726 Commerce St., Dallas214-741-4406

The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

PurdueBlackFinn4440 Belt Line Road., Addison469-374-7667SMUHumperdinks6050 Greenville Ave, Dallas214.368.6597

South FloridaBlackFinn4440 Belt Line Road., Addison

469-374-7667

The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

TexasDraft Picks Sports Bar & Grill703 McKinney Avenue Suite 101,Dallas972.993.3636

Humperdinks1601 N. Central Expressway, Richardson972.690.4867

The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

Reetz Pub & Grub1411 E Campbell Road, Richardson 972-437-6216reetzpubandgrub.com

St Pete's Dancing Marlin2730 Commerce Street, Dallas214.698.1511

Jake’s5505 Belt Line Rd., Dallas972.503.5253www.jakesburger.net

Jake’s2702 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214.754.8001www.jakesburgers.net

Jake’s515 Main Street, Ft. Worthwww.jakesburgers.net

Jake’s6333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Ft. Worthwww.jakesburgers.net

TCUHumperdinks6050 Greenville Ave, Dallas214.368.6597

Humperdinks1601 N. Central Expressway, Richardson972.690.4867Jake’s515 Main Street, Ft. Worthwww.jakesburgers.net

Jake’s6333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Ft. Worthwww.jakesburgers.net

The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

Texas A&MDown Under Pub352 Town Place, Allen469.342.3490

End Zone Sports Bar & Grill3033 W Parker Road, Plano 972-867-3400Humperdinks6050 Greenville Ave, Dallas214.368.6597

The Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984Reetz Pub & Grub1411 E Campbell Road, Richardson 972-437-6216reetzpubandgrub.com

Texas TechEnd Zone Sports Bar & Grill

3033 W Parker Road, Plano 972-867-3400

Humperdinks6050 Greenville Ave, Dallas214.368.6597

St. Pete's Dancing Marlin2730 Commerce Street, Dallas214.698.1511

Jakes5505 Belt Line Rd., Dallas972.503.5253www.jakesburger.net

Jake’s2702 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214.754.8001www.jakesburgers.net

Jake’s6333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Ft. Worthwww.jakesburgers.net

Reetz Pub & Grub1411 E Campbell Road, Richardson 972-437-6216reetzpubandgrub.com

USCHully and Mo’s2800 Routh Street Dallas (214) 954-0203

VirginiaThe Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

NFL

ALL NFL GAMESDraft Media Sports Lounge400 N. Olive St., Dallas214-777-6524

St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin2730 Commerce St., Dallas214-698-1511

White Rock Sports Bar & Grill718 N. Buckner Blvd. #108, Dallas214-321-6979

Pokes14831 Midway RoadAddison, Texas 75001972.385.7653

Uptown Bar and Grill2523 McKinney AvenueDallas 75201214.969.9433

Pour House1919 Slillman StDallas 75206214.824.1170

Skybox1003 North Collins StArlington 76011817.795.2582

Lakewood 1st and Ten6465 E. Mockingbird LaneDallas 75214214.826.0110

Salt Sports BAr321 Town PlaceFairview, Tx 75069972.549.4200

Buffalo BillsDown Under Pub352 Town Place, Allen469.342.3490

Chicago BearsThe Pour House1919 Skillman St., Dallas214-969-1984

Down Under Pub352 Town Place, Allen469.342.3490

Dallas CowboysBig Al's McKinney Avenue Tavern2822 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214-969-1984

Draft Picks Sports Bar & Grill703 McKinney Avenue Suite 101,Dallas972.993.3636

End Zone Sports Bar & Grill3033 W Parker Road, Plano 972-867-3400

Humperdinks6050 Greenville Ave, Dallas214.368.6597

Humperdinks3820 Beltline Road, Addison972.484.3051

Humperdinks2208 W. NW Highway, Dallas214.358.4159

Humperdinks1601 N. Central Expressway, Richardson972.690.4867

Humperdinks700 Six Flags Drive, Arlington817.640.8553

Jake’s5505 Belt Line Rd., Dallas972.503.5253www.jakesburger.net

Jake’s2702 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214.754.8001www.jakesburgers.net

Jake’s515 Main Street, Ft. Worthwww.jakesburgers.net

Jake’s6333 Camp Bowie Blvd, Ft. Worthwww.jakesburgers.net

St Pete's Dancing Marlin2730 Commerce Street, Dallas214.698.1511

Miami DolphinsBig Al's McKinney Avenue Tavern2822 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214-969-1984

New Orleans SaintsBig Al's McKinney Avenue Tavern2822 McKinney Avenue, Dallas214-969-1984

Down Under Pub352 Town Place Allen469.342.3490

New York GiantsAngry Dog2726 Commerce St., Dallas214-741-4406

Philadelphia EaglesAngry Dog2726 Commerce St., Dallas

W H E R E T O W A T C H Y O U RF A V O R I T E T E A M

bar,tubein

tHEon

tHE

2730 Commerce S t ree t• Da l las , Texas 75226Phone 214.698.1511 • www.danc ingmar l in .com

C a t c h A l l T h e G a m e s H e r e !

T h e C o l d e s t B e e r I n D e e p E l l u m !

Page 20: The Sports Page Weekly

20 December 9-15, 2011 | The Sports Page | spor tspagedfw.com

NOWNOWOPEN!OPEN!