Dallas Mavericks Team News

Size matters in the NBA, but that doesn’t always mean bigger is better. Small is a size, too.

And when it comes to lineups, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle believes in diversity. Yes, he likes to have big men in the game. Most NBA champions have a strong inside presence.

But he also likes to use a three-guard lineup and has done so frequently in the preseason, especially with J.J. Barea occupying one of the spots. The 6-foot Puerto Rican has played 80 minutes in the three exhibitions, behind only Dirk Nowitzki (81 minutes) and Jason Kidd (83).

Barea’s been on the court with Kidd and either Jason Terry or rookie Roddy Beaubois a lot.

“I love it,” Barea says. “I love playing with point guards at the same time. It makes the job a lot easier for all of us. It gets the ball moving, and I like that.”

Until Beaubois gains some experience, Barea figures to keep the job of backing up Kidd. But it can be argued that he’s at his best when playing with Kidd, which allows Barea to look for his shot more. Throw in Terry and the smallish backcourt instantly gives the Mavericks plenty of offense in support of Nowitzki, Shawn Marion or whoever else is on the floor.

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Cowboys Win in Overtime

Austin only saved the season and some jobs (but just wait)

A season nearly died here Sunday, but even after his team ended up buying life-support time, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made a murky point clear:

The smell of lingering football rot, he says, won’t change a made-up mind.

“No,” Jones said, emphatically, then added with a smile, “and you will not trap me on that one.”

That answer was in reference to what might had been on Monday if the Cowboys hadn’t managed — in overtime, and with a Miles Austin miracle afternoon — to finally subdue an opponent that has now lost 28 of its last 30 NFL games, a futility record for the books.

Fire Wade Phillips? Jason Garrett? Himself as general manager?

Jerry, as the Valley Ranch boss of bosses, was spared, probably temporarily, from having to deal with any of those pertinent queries, once the Cowboys had stumbled and bumbled and gone many Miles out of the way to beat the gawd-awful Kansas City Chiefs 26-20 in OT.

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Mavs Fan Jam – Free Admission

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Angels Clinch AL West Over Rangers

The Angels soaked the jersey in beer, champagne and tears, holding Nick Adenhart’s No. 34 high in the middle of the celebration he missed.

Los Angeles is headed back to the playoffs for the sixth time in eight years, and the Angels intend to go with the memory of their late teammate alongside them. The 22-year-old pitcher’s death in an April car accident roiled their season early on, but it couldn’t sink this resilient team.

Kendry Morales homered and drove in three runs, and the Angels wasted no time clinching their third straight AL West title with an 11-0 victory over the second-place Texas Rangers on Monday night.

Ervin Santana pitched a seven-hitter for his fourth career shutout, while Maicer Izturis had three hits and two RBIs to wrap up the Angels’ fifth division crown in six years. Los Angeles (92-64) will open at home in the best-of-five first round next week—most likely against Boston, a familiar nemesis. The Red Sox need one win or a Texas loss to earn the AL wild card.

… for more visit yahoo/angles clinch west

Cowboys Win – Defense Comes Up Big

Cowboys’ D leads the way to 21-7 win over Panthers

Leading, but not by much, Tony Romo(notes) and the Dallas Cowboys were desperately in need of a big play.

Jake Delhomme(notes) helped them make several.

Terence Newman(notes) returned an interception 27 yards for a lead-stretching touchdown with 5:07 left, then rookie linebacker Victor Butler(notes) got two sacks and forced a fumble on the next series, sending Dallas to a 21-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Monday night.

Considering the Cowboys were coming off a last-second loss in the opener of their $1.15 billion stadium, a crowd of 90,588 was especially tense until the defense put the game away. The biggest sigh of relief likely came from team owner Jerry Jones.

… for more visit yahoo/cowboys d leads the way

Romo’s Dallas Cowboys Win in Tampa Bay

Bradie James tossed and turned much of the night, unable to sleep. So did Ken Hamlin.

Each blamed the Cowboys’ raggedy defensive performance against Tampa Bay for their sleepless night.

Even Wade Phillips, who believes in the power of positive thinking to a fault, said three times during his 17-minute news conference Monday afternoon that he wasn’t satisfied with the Cowboys’ defensive performance against Tampa Bay.

This is good. Really good.

This should make you pop the cork on the champagne you’ve been saving for just the right occasion, or take your significant other to Al Biernat’s for dinner.

… for more visit dallasmorningnews/cowboys win

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Cowboys/49ers this Saturday- Preview

Dallas Cowboys vs. San Fransisco 49ers Preseason Game 3 preview

Niners coach Mike Singletary named the veteran quarterback his starter this week over Alex Smith and Hill figures to get most of the playing time against the Cowboys. After scuffling a bit in his last preseason game vs. Oakland, Hill can now play more freely knowing he has the starting job locked up. If he falls on his face, he could make the Niners coaching staff — and fans, alike — wonder if the correct decision was made.

There were a lot of positives for the Cowboys in their rout of the Titans last week, but one concern is the amount of penalties the team committed. Thirteen flags were thrown on Dallas to the tune of 113 yards — not a habit the Cowboys want to pick up as the regular season creeps closer.

… for more visit nfl/game preview

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Rangers/Yankees Game 2 Preview

It’s been a month since A.J. Burnett won a game. Facing the Texas Rangers might help him end his rough stretch.

The right-hander looks to avoid a fourth straight loss while trying to help the New York Yankees to a second straight win and series victory over the visiting Rangers on Thursday.

Burnett (10-7, 4.08 ERA) hopes to close out a disappointing August on a positive note and bounce back from his worst outing of the season.

He allowed nine runs and nine hits – including three homers – in five innings of a 14-1 loss at Boston on Saturday. Burnett fell to 0-3 with a 6.32 ERA in his last five starts since going 5-0 with a 2.01 ERA in six outings from June 27-July 27.

Burnett once again disagreed with catcher Jorge Posada(notes) about pitch selection in his last start, a matter manager Joe Girardi feels has been blown out of proportion.

… for more visit yahoo sports/rangers yankees game 2 preview

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Texas HS Football Preseason Rankings

FOR TEXAS CLASS 5A REGION I PRESEASON RANKINGS CLICK HERE

In 2009, Class 5A Region I will still house some of the toughest competition and biggest home run hitters in the state when it comes to the teams overall and the talent pool that resides within it.

Looking at the region’s top teams and the way the potential playoff brackets align themselves, it will be a certainly obvious observation that not only is Division II the stronger of the two playoff brackets, it is also the most top-heavy collection of teams assembled for one bracket in recent memory. But that senario is a bit too far in the future to gage on how things will play out. There is still an entire season left to be played out. As they say, don’t get your hopes up too high, anything is possible, especially in the world of Texas HS Football.

The Top Dogs

Despite losing some of its top stars such as Rex Burkhead, Nate Bonsu, Jerod Monk and Nikita Whitlock, the scene in 8-5A is still very competitive and hot off the presses. Allen, the defending Division I state champion, with the reemergence of the Plano East Panthers back onto the playoff scene, could find themselves thrown into a much tougher and challenging Division II bracket. Plano East comes into 2009 on a high note not only with a win in its final game of the season, but qualifying and competing against some of the state’s best at the annual state 7on7 tournament. SImply learning how to win and using motivation can almost certainly change the entire structure of your outlook ahead.

… for a complete preview visit texasHSfootball/5a season preview

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Jessica Simpson Puts Hex On Cowboys

Alas, though Simpson is no longer in Romo’s life, she has seen fit to destroy your season anyway, Cowboys fans.

The National Enquirer reports that Simpson met a witch online (You might say she was… eWitched. Huh? Huh?), and hired her to put a hex on Romo’s love life AND his play with the Cowboys this year.

A source told National Enquirer magazine: “Jessica is normally a really sweet girl, but she still can’t believe Tony callously dumped her.”

“She found a woman in California. The two met at the star’s Beverly Hills home where they lit a candle, burned some incense and performed a couple of incantations.”

I have a text of that incantation:

ROMO, LOBO, MAJORDOMO… EYE OF NEWT AND WART OF HOG, WHEN THE BIG GAME COMES, MAY TONY LAY A LOG…

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