Hello, World Series!

For a franchise that seemed to personify mediocrity at its best, the Texas Rangers are leaving past perceptions far, far behind them. For the second year in a row, the Rangers won the American League Pennant and a berth in the Fall Classic. After 38 years in Texas without winning so much as a playoff series, the Rangers have once again captured the Cowboys-crazy Metroplex well into football season.

Unlike the 2010 run to the World Series that featured a hired gun in ace pitcher Cliff Lee, the Rangers played what can only be described as "classic" Rangers baseball in this year's Pennant-clinching win, slugging a gaggle of runs to topple the Tigers, 15-5, in Game 6 of the ALCS. Overwhelming offense.

And no, the honeymoon period for this team's success is nowhere near over. The NBA's Dallas Mavericks strung together 10 years of unfruitful playoff trips before reaching the mountain top this past season, and prior to Dirk and boys raising the Larry O'Brien trophy, the fan base grew skeptical and tired of each post-season trip that didn't result in a title. So before everyone rushes to say the Rangers now "have to" win the World Series this season, let's temper that just a little. After so many years of futility, it's exciting to see the team playing deep October, regardless of the outcome.

The Rangers aren't the Yankees -- don't confuse them as a "Championship or Bust" franchise. Frankly, it's been a just a "Championship or Bust" franchise for the majority of its existence. But of course, having said that, if you're going to make it this far, then damn it, go win it.

That's the way baseball go
I wonder if fans realize just how good the Rangers have it with Ron Washington and just how close the franchise came to parting ways with him. Think about it. Until last year when he navigated this organization to the World Series, did you ever think of Ron Washington as a great manager, a good manager or even a Major League caliber manager? A career third base coach from Oakland that Texas hired because, well, what options did the club have back in 2007. When he came to Texas, we were told he was a baseball lifer, the "Old School Brother," who was capable of getting the most out of his players. But don't they always talk up the new coach/new manager right after the hire.

After his first two seasons, Texas had gone a combined 154-170 with a last-place finish in 2007 and ending the season in second place in a watered down AL West in 2008. Sure, Texas had some solid pieces in place -- Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton and David Murphy being the main holdovers from that 2008 season (keep in mind Chris Davis was the primary first baseman, Ramon Vasquez manned the hot corner, and Milton Bradley spent 126 games as the DH) -- but it was by no means a Championship squad.

That's when John Daniels got to work. He brought in new pieces to fill spots in the lineup. Young kids who seemed like throw-ins from big trades began to arrive at the big league level. Elvis Andrus was the opening day starting shortstop in 2009, displacing Michael Young to third base, prompting the first of his trade demands. Thank goodness management didn't oblige.

Can you imagine this team making a run to the World Series without Michael Young? If his three-run home run against Tampa Bay in the 2010 ALDS wasn't enough, his play as a super-utility man in 2011 put this team on his back when teammates missed time with injury.

Through two different off-season's featuring Young demanding to be traded, staging the sequel before the 2011 season after Texas signed Adrian Beltre to strengthen the club defensively at third base. The team was coming off a World Series berth and the face of the franchise looked like he was being forced out by management despite all he'd done to help get the team to this level. And yet there was manager Ron Washington to assure Michael Young that as long as it was his lineup card to fill up, Young would be an integral part of the equation.

With Washington at the helm, Young led the Rangers with 159 games played (if you're a subtraction aficionado, you know he only missed three games) making 40 starts at third, 36 at first, 14 at second, and one game at shortstop. The rest of the time, he left the glove in the dugout and worked as the primary DH. He led by example and damn near won a batting title. How was Michael Young going to succeed, let along thrive (a .338 average seems like thriving to me), after all the conflict between a star player and the front office? Ron Washington was a calming buffer between the two sides. Nothing more than his soothing presence to let Young know that he was still an integral part of the lineup, of the organization, quelled the shaky waters before Texas set sail on 2011. And almost poetically, Young got a chance to play a quarter of the season at third base while Adrian Beltre was injured.

Ron Washington supported Michael Young by putting him on the lineup card in 159 of 162 games in 2011. And it was Michael Young who stood up in support of Ron Washington before the 2010 season after news of a cocaine-fueled scandal led Washington to offer his resignation to Nolan Ryan and John Daniels. Once again, thank goodness management didn't oblige.

Texas is going back to the World Series because of strong leadership at the top of the organization, great managerial moves, and tremendous talent between the lines. How else can you describe was Nelson Cruz did in the ALCS?

Cruz Control
Any time you're breaking records that involve Lou Gehrig, you're doing something right. In his first 25 postseason games, Nelson Cruz hit 11 home runs. Gehrig has nine in his first 25 playoff games. Cruz went on to smash six home runs and 13 RBI, both Major League records in a single series. All of this coming after the Boomstick was M.I.A. against Tampa Bay in the ALDS. How scarce was Cruz against the Rays? The 1-for-10 Mitch Moreland thought Cruz was slumping. The Rangers right fielder went 1-for-15 in four games against Tampa Bay with no walks and five strikeouts. *Woof*

He followed that performance by batting .364 (8-for-22) against Detroit in the ALCS. Keep in mind, that's six home runs in eight hits. Those other two hits: doubles.

Side note: In baseball, Slugging Percentage is calculated by adding up the total number of bases divided by at-bats. The formula looks like this:

1(1B) + 2(2B) + 3(3B) + 4(HR)
AB

Apply that to Nelson Cruz's numbers:

1(0) + 2(2) + 3(0) + 4(6) = 1.273
22

Cruz's slugging percentage of 1.273 may be a small sample size of only six games, but to put it in perspective, it's more than three times greater than the American League average in slugging percentage, a .408 clip in 2011. Nelson Cruz may have been "Boomstick or Bust" in the LCS, but it a much greater dose of the former than the latter. Will he stay that hot in the World Series? I'm not sure, but it's safe to say he's the greatest seven-hole hitter in the 165 years since Henry Chadwick codified the rules of baseball in 1846, or since the James K. Polk administration (our 11th president, if you're keeping score at home). I'd be shocked if he kept that kind of pace in the Fall Classic, but even half of that production would be spectacular.

Something Special
What we're witnessing in Texas this year is again something special. I'm not sure how to compare it to the first time Texas put on its big boy pants and ventured past the first round of the playoffs for the first time ever and pushed past the hated Yankees in the LCS to reach the World Series in 2010. I'm not sure how Texas will match up with either St. Louis or Milwaukee, but neither have the pitching prowess of the 2010 San Francisco Giants that featured not only Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgardener but also an offence that got hot at the best possible time. Perhaps that's the lesson of last year, that even a team like San Francisco can get hot at the plate and propel a team to a World Championship. And the opposite can manifest itself as well.

A player's ability can betray them at the worst possible time. It's a defeating feeling, and I feel the essence of that type of disgust was captured with this shot during the Rangers' 9-run 3rd inning in Game 6 against Detroit when Tigers reliever Daniel Schlereth mouthed "F my ass" when skipper Jim Leyland emerged from the dugout to remove him from the game.


Cards on the table: I really just wanted to find a way to work that video clip into this blog.

The Rangers are sitting pretty right now. They are off until Wednesday with the luxury of sitting back and watching the Brewers and Cardinals decide where in the Midwest the Texas charter will fly. For fans, it's an opportunity to once again drink in the magic of playoff baseball. Even if you were around for three AL West Championships in the late 1990s and despite how fresh 2010's Pennant is engraved in your sports brain, this season is still a special feeling.

The honeymoon feeling may be far from over. As fans, we should enjoy the next fews days of relaxing and waiting. Don't let the anxiety of a looming World Series weigh you down. Last season, this franchise playing so deep into October was a classic case of an organization running on house money. There was nothing to lose. And if you can honestly say that isn't the case this year, then maybe you don't remember watching Rangers baseball during the team's the first 38 years in Arlington.

Without that pressure, and with the experience of having been there before, it's time for the Texas Rangers -- yes, the Texas Rangers -- to win four more games. When you think about the run that the Atlanta Braves had under Bobby Cox that won 14 consecutive Division Championships and five pennants from 1991-2005, they came away with what some would call "only one World Championship." If that's the type of trajectory the Rangers are on right now, and based on the new ownership's ability and willingness to spend, combined with a young and talented core and supported by a great management team and coaching staff, you've got to like how Texas is positioned not only for the next four-to-seven games but the next four-to-seven years too.

Redemption: Dal 27, SF 24

Redemption is a beautiful thing. And Dallas grabbed handfuls of it with a 27-24 overtime win in San Francisco to improve to 1-1 this season. Despite a botched field goal, plenty of injuries, question-marked play calls, and facing the pressure of last week's last-game collapse to the Jets, the Cowboys found a way to rally from 1o down in the 4th quarter with everyone getting their own piece of redemption along the way.

Dallas got a crazy comeback win on the road, and it's not the first time Dallas has done so in the Tony Romo era. Buffalo in 2007 and Kansas City in 2009 each come to mind. There was also a game in which Dallas rallied from 10 points down to force overtime in Arizona in 2008, however Dallas lost on a blocked bunt in the extra period. Maybe the Cowboys found a little magic, the same time of magic the Jets used last week against Dallas. Redemption is sweet.

At the top of the list is Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. A week after everyone, myself included, put him as Reason No. 1 for the opening week loss in New York, Romo re-asserted himself as the leader of this football team. The QB led Dallas on a long opening drive that had all the elements a fan could ask for, except points (more on that later). He left the game with sore ribs -- and reports this morning indicate he has a pair of fractured ribs -- but after a pair of Jon Kitna turnovers, Romo forced himself back into the game to lead the Cowboys to a come-from-behind win.

Any thoughts of Kitna leading this team based on last year's second-half success combined with Romo's Week 1 struggles evaporated as Romo toughed out a painful rib injury. And his return to the game came only after the television audience was informed that the Cowboys quarterback would not return to the game. Not only did Dallas need that to save their season (starting 0-2 is a great way to miss to the playoffs unless you're one of the great dynasty teams -- and this isn't one of them), but Romo and other members of the team needed to prove themselves again.

Field goal kicker Dan Bailey also got himself cut and re-earned his roster spot all in the afternoon. Bailey missed a chip shot 22-yard field goal after a long Cowboys opening drive, an extra-point range kick. It's inexcusable to miss those distance kicks in high school games. In the NFL, it can and (unless you finish the game the way Bailey did) should cost you your job. Bailey lined up to kick a 48-yard field goal to force overtime with just enough time left in the game to get the kick away. I'd say my confidence level was on EMPTY. When he kicked the overtime winner from 19 yards, maybe that meter was on a 1/4 tank. When a kicker missed a 22-yard field goal, you aren't expecting him to make the game-tying and game-winning kicks. Baily did. Redemption.

Dallas put itself on the verge of 0-2 and the making of another depressing season. If the Cowboys lose that game -- and they did plenty to try -- where do you start with your frustrations? If not for Doug Free diving on a Miles Austin fumble on the second-to-last play of regulation, Dallas never gets a chance to kick that game-tying 48-yard field goal. I don't necessarily blame Austin for fumbling nearly as much as I question Head Coach Jason Garrett's decision to hand him the ball in the backfield for the first time that afternoon.

In overtime, Romo connected with Jesse Holley for a 77-yard pass that took the Cowboys down to the shadow of the goal line, setting up Bailey's 19-yard game-winning chip shot one play later. Holley is an interesting case. This is the same guy who is in the NFL because Michael Irvin felt like hosting a reality show where a player can earn an invite to an NFL training camp. If Romo has made the most of being an undrafted rookie free agent, Holley appears to be making the most of a reality TV show. And even after his long pass play where he appeared to have just felt the presence of God while the rest of America wasn't as sure he'd set up the winning kick (Bailey already missed from 22, and that kick wouldn't have been good from 19 either, Holley was still a more amicable reality star than anyone from Jersey Shore.

Holley had never caught a pass in the NFL before making three receptions during the crucial moments of the game. So maybe his "just met Jesus" actions on the sidelines after that catch were much more acceptable when you realize he can't exactly "act like he's been there before" because he hasn't. Not even close. The guy just won a football game in the NFL for the Cowboys. But hopefully next time he won't almost lose it. Holley doesn't have breakaway speed, which is why he was caught from behind on the long pass. Right as he was brought down, Holley was extending the football in the air from the eight yard line in. If he fumbles that ball any direction other than out of bounds ahead of the end zone, it's a disastrous play. San Francisco would get to take over on the 20 if the ball rolled out of the end zone. Instead, Holley holds on, and Dallas kicks the game winner. I'm happy for him -- how can you not be after watching how emotional of a play it was for him? -- but he needs to learn from that and NEVER expose the ball like that in the future.

On a day when Dez Bryant didn't dress for the game, Holley came up big late in the contest but Miles Austin had the biggest day of all Cowboys, catching nine passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns, including one score coming from Kitna. Austin and tight end Jason Witten (seven catches, 102 yards) led all receivers going over the century mark in yardage.

Witten and running back Felix Jones joined Romo playing hurt in a game that Dallas found a way to come back and win. I'm still not entirely sure how exactly, but I'm relatively certain that if not for a team as young and inexperienced as San Francisco, the Cowboys might not be so fortunate.

After Kitna threw his first interception, a pass into the heart of the end zone after Witten had broken off the route, Cowboys cornerback Alan Ball got the football back with an interception of Alex Smith, the only Cowboys takeaway on the day. Ball's pick set up a Dallas drive starting from the 49ers 18 yard line. Five plays later, Kitna found Austin to tie the game, 14-14, with 6:50 left in the third quarter. Dallas had been down 14-0 until their final drive the first half, where Austin broke free for a 53-yard score with just under two minutes left before intermission.

The Cowboys would again have to rally from a double-digit deficit. It's hard enough to do once in the NFL, but Kitna's second interception on a tipped ball over the middle set up a 49ers TD under a minute left in the 3rd quarter. Kitna tossed a pair of picks in the quarter, and Romo took over on the next Cowboys offensive possession. San Francisco got the ball back at the start of the 4th quarter and drove to the Cowboys 37 yard line where David Akers nailed a 55-yard field goal to make it 24-14. Two score game with 11:12 left on the clock.

The field goal was not without controversy, however, as Dallas' Keith Brooking was flagged for leverage, a 15-yard penalty that could have given the 49ers 1st and 10 on the Dallas 22-yard line. San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh decided to keep the points on the board, a decision that seemed like the smart move at the time. You've just got up two scores on Dallas in the 4th quarter, and maybe it's harder to take a 55-yarder off the board compared to a 30-something yard (especially because the 15-yard penalty on a 30-something yarder puts your offense deep in the red zone).

Dallas answered the long kick with an 80-yard drive that culminated in a Romo-to-Austin touchdown to pull the Cowboys within three points, 24-21. But that TD pass came one play after Romo connected with the man who is trying to become the Bob Lilly successor as Mr. Cowboy, Jason Witten, on 4th and 5 from the San Francisco 34. The Cowboys passed on a chance to kick a 51-yard field goal, which seemed like a no-brainer based on Bailey's earlier 22-yard miss and David Buehler's struggles last year. Everyone in the world knew Romo was going to Witten, and the Cowboys still completed the pass.

The Rob Ryan defense stopped San Francisco after five plays, and Dallas got the ball back on their own 33 with 4:03 left in regulation trailing 24-21. Romo's first two passes of the drive went to Jesse Holley, and he dropped other short passes off to Austin and Demarco Murray. From 1st and 10 on the 49ers 36, Romo connected on a seven-yard pass to Austin, but Dallas then ran up the gut with Tashard Choice for one yard, and Austin was given an ill-advised handoff that Free saved with a fumble recovery. The Cowboys may be starting three young pups on the offensive line, and thank goodness Free, not one of the kids, was there to pounce on the ball. The Cowboys let the clock tick down to 0:04 before calling timeout and setting up Bailey's 48 yarder.

All is well in Dallas. Redemption shines down on the Cowboys this week. Monday night the team opens at home against division leader (yeah, that's weird) Washington. So yes, after the disaster in Week 1 and what appeared to be a game destined for a loss in Week 2, the Cowboys (1-1) will play the Redskins (2-1) with a chance to get out in front of the division next week. Still a long way to go this season, but it's much easier to feel good about the team's chances after the final 15 minutes in San Francisco.

Jet-tisoned: Dal 24, NY Jets 27

I forgot just how sickening a feeling football season brings with it. It's not that the Cowboys lost -- I wasn't expecting them to win heading into the game -- but how they pulled off the worst collapse in franchise history. The Dallas Cowboys dropped their prime time season opener for the second straight year, a 27-24 loss to the New York Jets.

I fully expected the emotion of the day, being the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, to help the Jets romp over the Cowboys, but somehow Dallas was not only able to stay close but managed to open up a 14-point lead. My, how things unraveled over the final 15 minutes of the game. And as much as I'd like to look at so many of the positives of this game (and there are plenty of positives), the end result was a blooper-filled loss that marred the first three quarters of great football. It was the first time in franchise history Dallas dropped a game they led in the 4th quarter by 14 points, a 248-game sample size.

By comparison, the Carolina Panthers and rookie quarterback Cam Newton dropped their season-opener to the Arizona Cardinals, 28-21, and everyone is talking about how it was almost like a win for the Panthers. Newton set a rookie passing record (422 yards), and Carolina did not appear to be the hapless bunch of misfits people might have been expecting. The difference is a team that went 2-14 last season and is starting a rookie under center (or really, primarily in the shotgun) is allowed to have moral victories. The team that blows a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter isn't afforded the same luxury.

And that is how the Cowboys began their season, with a 24-10 lead seconds into the fourth quarter only to give up 17 unanswered points, two critical turnovers, and a blocked punt. It almost makes me wish the lockout lasted a little longer.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was turnover free for the first 48 minutes of the game but went on to fumble inside the Jets five yard line and throw an interception to Darrelle Revis that set up New York's game-winning field goal. The field goal was a 50-yard dose of irony as former Cowboys kicker Nick Folk buried the ball between the uprights with seconds to go to give the Jets the lead for the first time all game.

There were so many potential positives for the Cowboys in a game that no one was expecting them to win, and that's what makes this so disappointing. Not that they lost, but how they lost. The Cowboys hung with one of the top teams in the NFL, a team that has come within one game of the Super Bowl each of the past two seasons, and had a chance to beat them. If not for three abominations on fourth quarter drives (fumble, blocked punt, interception), Dallas would have left the Meadowlands (Metlife Stadium?) with a 1-0 record and plenty of healthy momentum. Instead this team will travel to the other side of the country next week for a game against San Francisco in what -- in an incredibly unhealthy way -- is somehow already being deemed a must-win game for Dallas.

What a sickening football feeling that loss forced upon Cowboys fans. I'd almost prefer, no, I would absolutely prefer to lose decisively than to hold a 14-point lead only to see it evaporate in the face of one of the most embarrassing statistics every to be displayed across the TV screen. In the 50-year history of the Cowboys franchise, Dallas was 246-0-1 when leading by 14 points or more in the fourth quarter. After last night, make it 246-1-1.

Thoughts on last night's game:
+ If the Cowboys had to lose last night, which I had been expecting just not in that fashion, good for the Jets for sticking to the script of the day. To think that it's been 10 years since September 11, 2001, and to still remember the details of that day so clearly brings with it a chilling effect. Everyone knows exactly where they were, and everyone has a story to tell even if they were thousands of miles away from New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. The memorial held at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan was amazing, and it's definitely something I want to visit at some point in the future, if for nothing more than to pay respects.

The morning carried such a somber mood (an inevitable effect of what we were remembering) having to reflect on and in many ways relive that day through the images and memorials. I honestly felt guilty changing the channel on my TV from the news networks carrying the memorial to NFL football. Part of me couldn't quite balance whether I should be able to derive so much enjoyment from watching this game on a day where so many people can't help but grieve. And as a result of that feeling, I gained a true understanding of just how important football -- sports in general -- are for our society.

Watching the Bears/Falcons game begin on FOX at 1pm, members of the armed services began unfurling the American Flag across the entire field, and suddenly the crowd erupted into cheers as members of both football teams walked to the edge of the flag to hold on to it, to connect themselves with the flag, with this country, and all that the Stars and Stripes represents. And when the National Anthem began, fans erupted again in cheers, using the Star Spangled Banner as a rallying point. Soldier Field didn't appear to have any empty seats, yet in that moment not one of them was occupied by a Bears fan or a Falcons fan, only Americans united. We needed football yesterday, especially yesterday, to not only help ease the pains and wounds of September 11, but our stadiums personified the unity of our nation rather than highlighting hostilities between people based on something as trivial as being a Redskins fan or a Giants fan.

If ever there was a day America needed football, needed sport, we can be thankful for yesterday's NFL and Major League Baseball games as significant outlets of positivity. If only that unity, that positivity could be easily restored at the end of each game, win or lose. It's hard to be bitter, to be upset with your team losing -- I was and I am -- but it's not something I hold against a Jets fan after yesterday's Cowboys loss. Jets fans, like myself, are Americans, and I hope that moving forward fans can look to yesterday as an example of how we can root against each other during the game inside the stadium or at local bars or gathered around TVs at a buddy's house just so long as we arrive united as Americans and leave the same way.

+ After tying all of the above, which I wasn't really expecting myself to get into (yall know I typically keep it pretty light-hearted), I'm not quite sure the best way to transition into breaking down football. So let's go with this stat: Dallas is now 0-2 when former President George W. Bush flips the coin before a Cowboys game against a New York team (the Giants beat the Cowboys at the opening game at Cowboys Stadium in 2009). Also, did anyone notice the look President Bush gave the Cowboys captains after Dallas one the toss. It was almost like, "Hey, yall see what I did there? I got your back. Now go win this for Texas!" If only it worked like that.

+ The Rob Ryan defense impressed last night, especially when in theory he was facing a team coached by the one guy who would be better equipped to understand what Rob would try to do. His twin brother Rex Ryan, head coach of the Jets, ended up getting the better of the match up on the scoreboard, but Rob can probably take a little solace in the fact that it wasn't his defense that cost the Cowboys the game. In fact, the defense overcame a vastly depleted secondary with a combination of tremendous pressure up front from DeMarcus Ware and company and what can only be described as a scrap-heap secondary squeezing every ounce of talent and ability out of themselves.

The team's top cornerback Terence Newman missed last night's game, and Orlando Scandrick missed pretty much the final three quarters with a high ankle sprain. Mike Jenkins was in and out of the ball game with injuries. The Cowboys top three corners were hobbled, and seeing guys like Alan Ball and Danny McCray step up was a very good sign for Dallas.

+ Tony Romo .... ugh. I wanted to lead with this, but I didn't want to get so negative so quickly. Might as well dive headfirst into that pool now. Dallas didn't turn the ball over until Romo fumbled inside the five yard line in the fourth quarter. It was play that Romo of 2006 and 2007 would have probably made. At the very least, those were the last two seasons I remember thinking that whenever Romo drops back good things will happen. Now when Romo drops back, I slink into a ball of mush on my couch, cringing what I fear might happen. Lo and behold, Romo goes diving toward the goal line with the ball in his right arm away from his body. Fumble. Jets football. Momentum: New York. At the very least, protect the football. A loss of a yard or two is okay. Throwing the ball away is perfectly fine. A fumble when you're up by seven with a chance to at least tack on a field goal (which would have made it 27-17) is unacceptable.

Meanwhile the Cowboys defense hung on to force a fumble on the ensuing Jets drive, giving Dallas the ball, 1st and 10 from the Jets 47 yard line. At that point, Dallas still led 24-17 on the right side of midfield with six minutes to play and a chance to ice the game. Instead the stout New York defense forced a 3-and-out. Mat McBriar came on to punt, but a breakdown in protect allowed Joe McKnight to go up the gut untouched to block the kick, which was scooped up and returned 18 yards for the tying touchdown with five minutes to play.

The teams traded punts leaving Dallas with the ball in a tied game, 24-24, with a minute to play. The Cowboys had a timeout to work with and the ball on their own 41 yard line, only 35 yards away from a realistic field goal attempt. At the very least, Dallas would wind up in overtime. Instead, on the first play of the drive, Romo let loose a dud toward the sideline where Dez Bryant was in bracket coverage. Revis intercepted, setting up the Nick Folk game-winning field goal from 50 yards out. Game. Over.

Again, it's not that they lost, but how they lost caused this morning's football ulcer.

+ Speaking of Dez Bryant, the funniest tweet of the night came early in the first half when Bryant got off to a hot start against the Jets all-everything cornerback. "Dez Bryant just set up a beach chair on Revis Island." Too bad that a stay on Revis Island will take a lot out of you, and by the fourth quarter Dez was gassed, he was gimpy, and he wasn't going to beat Revis. For Romo to target him on that final interception was even more ridiculous when you consider how Bryant had slipped over the course of the game. Bryant is a big, physical beast of a wide receiver. If he stays healthy not only through the season (or at the very least through the course of an entire game), Dallas has one great offensive weapon wearing No. 88.

+ On the other side of the formation, Miles Austin showed by we can't automatically pass the torch of No. 1 WR to Dez just yet. Austin took away an interception with a simultaneous catch in the end zone for a touchdown. He finished with five catches, 90 yards, and a score, leading all Cowboys options not named Jason Witten.

+ How great was Sean Lee? The second-year linebacker had a monster game, proving that even the blind squirrel that has overseen recent Cowboys drafts is capable of finding a nut. Lee picked off a Mark Sanchez pass that he returned to the red zone, and he recovered the fourth quarter Sanchez fumble on the defense's last stand. Lee also led the team with 12 tackles. On a team that last season favored seniority when determining playing time, it was great to see No. 50 on the field for the majority of the game with elder statesmen Bradie James and Keith Brooking rotating in.

+ Center Phil Costas premature snap during the Cowboys last-ditch final drive made me miss Andre Gurode, who Dallas cut in training camp this season. Granted, Gurode also used to suffer from premature snapulation, but during the broadcast I saw several commercials for pills that are supposed to help you with that. Just say Jimmy Johnson.

+ For a team that struggled so heavily in past seasons in goal-to-go situations, it was nice to see Felix Jones punch the ball into the end zone in short-distance situation. Marion Barber handled those goal line situations in past seasons, but again, it's out with the old and in with guys who we will threaten to cut unless you play to a level we deem fit. Jones didn't have a spectacular game, but few do against the Jets run defense. It was good to see him succeed in this situation, especially with how often Barber failed to get the 3rd-and-short, 4th-and-short yardage over the last few seasons.

+ This loss reminded me of a 2008 defeat in Pittsburgh late in the season. Not because it's a game that Dallas should have won (based on the first three quarters, not pre-game predictions), but because the guys that lost this game for Dallas were the guys who you wouldn't expect to be the ones to burn you. Romo and Witten cost Dallas on a December day at Heinz Field in 2008. Romo again hurt Dallas in this game. Moreso than last year's season opener, which could be blamed on Tashard Choice's fumble on an ill-advised before the half and Alex Barron's game-ending holding penalty, this game was lost by the team's franchise quarterback.

Jason Witten: Cowboy for life

By all accounts, today's contract extension for Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is intended on making him a "Cowboy for life." Jerry Jones inked Witten to a five year, $37 million extension to keep a star on his helmet through 2017. In an era of free agency and no loyalty, this signing can provide a link to what the legendary Cowboys have in common: they spent the entirety of their careers in Dallas.

Emmitt's two years in Arizona notwithstanding, virtually every current member of the Ring of Honor was a Cowboy for life. No one in that group is thought of as anything other than a Dallas Cowboy. Seriously, who honestly even remembers where Tony Dorsett finished his career? (And if you say Denver, then you looked it up.)

Witten was a rookie with Dallas in Bill Parcell's first season as head coach in Dallas. Thank goodness. I'd hate to think what might have happened if he'd been subjected to even one season of the Campo regime. He has an opportunity not only eventually become to Cowboys all-time pass catcher but possibly the best tight end of all time (although Shannon Sharpe's three rings put him atop my list over Tony Gonzalez as it currently stands).

Not many guys on the current Cowboys roster have the making of "Ring of Honor" potential. If Demarcus Ware remains one of the top defenders in the league for another five seasons, sure. If Tony Romo wins a Super Bowl to put him past the "Danny White" level of Cowboys quarterback, of course. But other than Witten (and I suppose punter Mat McBriar), who else on this roster has excelled so consistently over the last decade?

Jason Witten may not ever win a ring, but he became a Cowboys immortal figure when he ran without a helmet down inside the Eagles five yard line back in 2007 during the Cowboys 13-3 season. He wasn't the reason the team lost to the Giants in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. He will one day go into the Ring of Honor in Cowboys Stadium as the first of this generations Cowboys -- perhaps the only representative of this generation's Cowboys barring magnificent success still to come.

A lot of times I worry when a player gets a big contract extension. How will it affect their on-field performance. It didn't seem to affect Romo (only his ability to stay healthy). But Witten represents a rare instance where I'm not concerned. I don't see him kicking his feet up because he's been paid. As a Cowboys fan, I look forward to seeing Witten play the entirety of his career with Dallas. Not because he's a "good guy," a great representative of this franchise, which he is, but because he's a damn good football player.

Intimidators Audio

Hey Intimidators fans,

Broadcaster Josh here. If you'd like to hear some of the archived highlight calls from some of this season's games -- as well as player interviews from the pre-game show -- I'm working to post a lot of what I've got right here on my blog. Feel free to take a listen, and let me know what your favorite moments from this season have been. Thanks, and GO INTIMIDATORS!

JUMP TO: GAME HIGHLIGHTS ... PLAYER INTERVIEWS

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• 2011-06-10 Burnside strikes out 10
• 2011-06-10 Silverio's Grand Slam
• 2011-06-12 Dan Black HR
• 2011-06-12 Kevin Dubler home run
• 2011-06-13 Dan Black HR
• 2011-06-14 Dan Black walk-off grand slam
• 2011-06-19 Ross Wilson solo HR
• 2011-06-18 Kyle Eveland GW-RBI
• 2011-06-30 Miguel Gonzalez 2-RBI hit in Bot 8 give
• 2011-06-30 Wilson gets Profar to fly out, ending c
• Juan Silverio RBI-triple - vs. Asheville (7/2/11)
• Trayce Thompson guns down runner at 3B - vs. Asheville (7/2/11)
• Audio Recap: Intimidators 6-1 win vs. Rome Braves - July 14, 2011 at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium
• Dan Black solo HR - vs. Lakewood (7/18/11)
• Trayce Thompson's 2nd 2-run Double - vs. Lakewood (7/18/11) ()
• Intimidators lineup rap - July 18 vs. Lakewood ()
• Dan Black's walk off hit in 10th - vs. Asheville (7/28/11) ()
• Dan Black's 2-run triple - vs. Delmarva (8/5/11) ()
• Wilson strikes out final batter - vs. Delmarva (8/5/11) ()
• Jeremy Nowak robs Trayce Thompson of HR - vs. Delmarva (8/5/11) (Lesson learned: don't call it gone when it ain't. Sorry, Trayce.)
• Miguel Gonzalez leadoff HR (Bot 4) - vs. Delmarva (8/6/11) ()
• Miguel Gonzalez throws out baserunner - vs. Delmarva (8/6/11) ()
• Trayce Thompson game-tying RBI-double - vs. Delmarva (8/6/11) ()
• Leighton Pangilinan's 2-run 2B takes the lead - vs. Delmarva (8/6/11) ()
• Leighton Pangilinan's leadoff HR - vs. Delmarva (8/6/11) ()
• Dan Black 2-run double (32) - vs. Delmarva (8/6/11) ()
• Trayce Thompson's 3-run homer - vs. Delmarva (8/7/11) ()
• Collin Kuhn's grand slam - vs. Delmarva (8/8/11) ()
• Wes Whisler strikes out last batter for save - vs. Delmarva (8/8/11) ()
• Keenyn Walker game-tying hit in 9th - vs. West Virginia (8/15/11) ()
• Carlos Sanchez walk off single in 9th - vs. West Virginia (8/15/11) ()
• Little Girl (WV Power fan) hijacks broadcast - Intimidators vs. West Virginia (8/17/11) ()
• Buddy Bell pre-game interview - Aug. 18, 2011 ()
• Trayce Thompson's 3-run HR - Intimidators vs. Suns (8/20/11) ()
• Trayce Thompson's 2nd HR - Intimidators vs. Suns (8/20/11) ()
• Thompson to Gonzalez play at the plate - Intimidators vs. Suns (8/21/11) ()
• Thompson's 2-out RBI in 8th - Intimidators vs. Suns (8/21/11) ()
• Collop ends the game - Intimidators vs. Suns (8/21/11) ()

PLAYER INTERVIEWS:

• - 2011-04-15 Manager Tommy Thompson ()
• - 2011-04-16 Addison Reed ()
• - 2011-04-17 Kevin Moran ()
• - 2011-04-18 Kyle Eveland ()
• - 2011-04-19 Mike Blanke ()
• - 2011-04-20 J.R. Ballinger ()
• - 2011-04-21 Jake Petricka ()
• - 2011-04-22 Tommy Thompson ()
• - 2011-04-30 Dan Black ()
• - 2011-05-01 Drew Lee ()
• - 2011-05-02 Ross Wilson ()
• - 2011-05-07 Chase Cooney ()
• - 2011-05-08 Tommy Thompson ()
• - 2011-05-09 Kenny Gilbert ()
• - 2011-05-10 Jake Wilson ()
• - 2011-05-12 Charles Poe ()
• - 2011-05-20 Tommy Thompson ()
• - 2011-05-21 Trayce Thompson ()
• - 2011-05-22 Spencer Arroyo ()
• - 2011-05-23 Brady Shoemaker ()
• - 2011-05-29 Ross Wilson ()
• - 2011-05-30 Dexter Carter ()
• - 2011-05-31 Kenny Gilbert ()
• - 2011-06-05 Paul Burnside ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-06 Dan Black ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-07 Tommy Thompson ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-10 Phil Negus ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-12 Rafael Vera ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-13 Kevin Dubler ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-14 John Spatola ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-15 Dexter Carter ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-16 Reid Kelly ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-17 Tommy Thompson ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-18 Ross Wilson ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-19 Kyle Eveland ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-27 Trayce Thompson ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-28 Chase Cooney ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-06-30 Brady Shoemaker ()
• Tommy Thompson Interview 7/1/11 - after crazy 6-5 win over Hickory on 6/30
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-02 Marcus Semien ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-03 Kevin Moran ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-12 Terance Marin ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-13 Matt Heidenreich ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-14 Wes Whisler ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-16 Dusty Harvard ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-17 Phil Negus ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-15 Tommy Thompson ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-28 Keenyn Walker ()
• Interview: Ed Randall, Bat For The Cure: Strike Out Prostate Cancer ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-07-31 Dan Black ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-05 Tommy Thompson ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-06 Jake Wilson ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-07 Leighton Pangilinan ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-08 Chris Bassitt ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-14 Wes Whisler ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-15 Ross Wilson ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-16 Marcus Semien ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-17 Collin Kuhn ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-18 Buddy Bell, White Sox Director of Player Development()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-19 Tommy Thompson, manager ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-20 Paul Burnside ()
• Pre-Game Interview - 2011-08-21 Dan Black & Trayce Thompson ()

And In Other Sports News...A Post By Vanessa.

THE RUGBY WORLD CUP IS ALMOST HERE!

Aaaaaand you probably don't care. I know, I know, it's football season and there was a lockout and O-M-G aren't we all excited that there is a season this year (as if there was ever actually a chance they wouldn't sort that out in time to make MORE money), but it's here and there are somethings you should know:

1. Team USA qualified to play!
   
2. Game #2 is against the first time qualifying Russia. EFF THE RUSSIANS AND THEIR WORLD CUP ASPIRATIONS.
   
3. The Eagles (you guys) have a legitimate chance of getting out of their bracket.
4. If they do they will more than likely play South Africa... and lose. Sorry, beating the RWC 2007 champs is a long shot.
5. You should follow and support them anyway- they are representing your country, get behind your flag.
6. I'm South African-hence the "you guys" and "you" references to America.

Go Eagles!

PS. Your rugby jerseys are SWEEEEET.

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/

Addison's Ascent

In years past when I worked in independent baseball, teams I worked for had players purchased by Major League clubs and assigned to their minor league affiliates. I enjoyed seeing how those guys did and if they'd be able to keep that job for future seasons. Working in affiliate ball, one of the neat things is watching players already in an organization -- for me, the White Sox -- move up the ranks to High-A or even Double-A. Plenty of guys who started the season here in Kannapolis with the Class A Intimidators in the South Atlantic League have since moved up to Winston-Salem. Some guys have even jumped two levels and are now part of the Birmingham Barons, the Double-A squad. But only one so far has reached Triple-A.

Addison Reed.

I got the chance to interview Addison early in the season, which is a good thing because he was not long for the Intimidators. He struck out 11 batters in just 8.0 innings with Kannapolis and just two weeks into the 2011 season, the White Sox moved Reed up to the Dash. Same song, second verse: he was 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA (5 ER/28.1 IP) in 15 games with Winston-Salem before becoming a Baron. The former San Diego State Aztec continued to torch opposing hitters. He struck out 33 batters while walking only six in just 20.2 innings at Double-A Birmingham; his ERA was a microscopic 0.87 (2 ER/20.2 IP).

At this point, the White Sox moved last year's third round pick back into the Carolina's, promoted him to Triple-A Charlotte. Reed is now with the Knights and through two games appears to be the same guy who lit up the South Atlantic, Carolina and Southern Leagues in his stops at each level.

This season, Reed is 2-1 with a 1.34 ERA (9 ER/60.2 IP) with 90 strikeouts and 11 walks. Maybe he shouldn't get too comfortable in Charlotte. At this rate, he'll be bound for the Windy City come September.

From Low-A to the Big Leagues in a single year? It's not exactly easy. There's a reason a lot of guys spend a year in rookie ball, then a year in low-A, and then on to High-A, and so on. Making that transition from each level to the next is not easy. As a pitcher, the batters you face get smarter. They remember what you threw them last time. They talk in the dugout about what you're doing on the mound. They go up there with a much higher baseball IQ than the hitters at the level below.

For folks who follow the White Sox system, Addison Reed probably triggers memories of Daniel Hudson who started the 2009 season in Kannapolis before moving to Winston-Salem after just four starts. Hudson reached Double-A by June 20 where he went 7-0 with a 1.60 ERA in nine starts -- in fact he didn't surrender a run in his last 26 innings with the Barons before joining the Knights.

Hudson started 2009 in Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium in Kannapolis, North Carolina, but on September 4 of that year he was making his Major League debut at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. Are you kidding me? That doesn't happen all that often.

It may happen for each Major League team once every decade, maybe. But here are the Chicago White Sox with a chance to have a second hurler shoot up the ladder and into the bigs from Low-A just two years after Hudson did it.

Reed has been impressive, obviously. Numbers don't lie -- especially not in baseball. And now he's in Charlotte just one level away. Today is August 1. Minor League seasons end in a month. When that time comes, feel free to look for Reed coming to a major league ballpark near you.

Outrage and Ecstasy over the Women's World Cup

I just spent three and a half hours watching soccer.

Women's soccer.

On a weekend!

And it was entirely worth it. The United States just defeated Brazil in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals of the Women's World Cup, and it prompted a similar reaction from me as when Dirk Nowitzki nailed game-winning shots during the Mavericks championship run earlier this summer. I left off my couch screaming in ecstasy.

And I don't care about soccer. At all.

The last time I watched soccer, a friend dragged me to some bar in Dallas at 7 a.m. to see some game that I didn't really care about. Prior to that, I watched the USA men's team compete in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup. The only MLS game I've ever seen start to finish was last year's championship between Dallas and Colorado. Frankly, unless it's international competition, it wasn't going to move the needle for me.

I might have to reconsider my stance. Or at least start watching international competition prior to elimination rounds.

Perhaps I felt compelled to watch in the hopes that an apparent injustice had to be righted. That I couldn't see my own country's national team be robbed the way I felt my Mavericks were unjustly cast aside during the 2006 NBA Finals. I have no other frame of reference for soccer, but I've watched enough sports to know how to feel and when to feel as if my team has been dealt an unfair hand.

The United States lost a player to a red card resulting not only in a penalty kick, but also having to play the rest of the man a man, *cough* excuse me, a woman down, 11-on-10. Still, leading 1-0, the US needed to save the penalty kick and hold on for a 1-0 win.

The penalty kick... SAVE BY HOPE SOLO! Yes! The United States is going to... Wait, what? What's happening now? A re-kick?! FOR WHAT?!?!?!

I was enraged, and unfortunately I don't have a large enough knowledge of soccer to make sense of why I should feel that way. Based on the reactions of American players and the announcers seemingly unable to find fault with how the United States played the PK, I grew even angrier when Brazil buried the second-chance penalty kick.

Now the USA and Brazil, tied 1-1, would play the rest of the match with the Americans down a player. The game went to extra time, stoppage time, hammer time ... whatever it's called, it still seems mysterious. Every other sport in the world seems to be able to accurately stop and start a clock when necessary, but soccer just keeps it running. Heck, just add on more when we're finished. If you think Major League Baseball should have replay because it's easy enough to determine Safe vs. Out, the fact that soccer doesn't feel the need to accurately use a stopwatch will result in an aneurism.

Still tied at 1-1, now to a pair of 15 minute halves. No sudden death. And Brazil friggen scores on what originally appeared to be offsides. Don't give me more reason to watch to smash my TV while the Cowboys and Mavericks are each locked out. If ever my household appliances should feel safe, it should be during an NFL and NBA lockout, right?

With Brazil holding a 2-1 lead, I couldn't help but think how the game should be over. Hope Solo saved that first penalty kick, and I still hadn't heard any logical reasoning from the announcers of why the PK has been retried. The US should have won, 1-0, in regulation. Why are they even playing these extra periods? And now with Brazil ahead, 2-1.

It was a sports injustice of the highest order.

My mind began creeping toward a dark place I didn't know existed prior to the 2006 NBA Finals. The United States was being absolutely screwed out of advancing to the World Cup semi finals. I wanted to lash out. It didn't seem fair at all. The announcers had resigned themselves to the fact that America's run in this World Cup would in fact end earlier than ever before. That the United States would lose twice in a World Cup for the first time ever. That Brazil was heading to the semis. But that's not the mentality we have here. I began screaming louder at my tv (my neighbors hate me, by the way), trying to will the USA to a goal that was certain never to come.

The first 15 minute period ended. Only 15 minutes until Brazil moved on and the United States went home. With four minutes left, one of Brazil's players went down with an injury. She was on the ground writhing in pain. Either she'd be shot or was about to give birth, but clearly this was no fake injury. Something serious must have happened. Medics brought a stretcher out to the field to move her off the pitch and allow play to continue. Then, as they were loading the Brazilian onto the stretcher, they showed a replay. The woman just laid down and FAKED the injury.

And just to make sure we knew she was full of shit, as soon as she was carried off the field on a stretcher, wasting four minutes of time, she sprung back as if re-spawning in a shoot-'em-up video game and ran back onto the field as if nothing had happened. That right there is why I couldn't stand Dwayne Wade clutching his eye at the end of Game 2 of the most recent finals, and it's why I've never liked soccer. If flopping is ruining the NBA, soccer is a lost cause.

Not only was the US going to lose, but Brazil was doing its best to cheat away the precious remaining seconds left on the clock. Had I been on the field, I might have been inclined to make sure that injury-faking cheater left the field on a stretcher, seeing as how she seemed like she wanted so badly to get out of playing just moments earlier. In baseball, pitchers retaliate with brushback pitches and plunking batters. If ever a player deserved to be taken out, it's the player who is already faking a catastrophic injury.

Referees tacked on three minutes of stoppage time, which seemed rather meager compared to how long the fake injury lasted. Oh, but they gave her a yellow card. Who gives a flying shit?! Unless that yellow card was going to add another minute or two back onto the clock, don't even bother.

Time ticked away. The first minute faded, the United States still trailing. And with just over a minute to go, a perfectly lobbed ball made its way toward the Brazilian net where Abby Wamback drove home the game-tying header with the latest goal ever scored in the World Cup, 122 minutes into the match.

After the Brazilians were gifted second life in this game with an extraneous penalty kick that proved fruitful, the game would be decided by penalty kicks, a strength favoring the Americans and goalkeeper Hope Solo. Poetic justice prevailed as the Americans were granted a second chance at their first penalty kick with Brazil's goalie leaving the goal line early. Boxx drove home the goal, and the penalty kick stage of the match was on!

Solo guessed wrong at the first two shots, but after the USA made its first three PKs, Solo lunged to her right and tipped a penalty kick wide of the net, making the only save America needed to advance on penalty kicks (5-3) past Brazil and into the semifinals.

Everything we pride ourselves on in the United States. Everything we strive to achieve. Working to be the best and carrying a never-say-die attitude into everything we undertake. It all paid off in this match. Soccer -- women's soccer! -- boosted National pride an extra notch on Sunday afternoon. Who would have ever thought that would happen? And who would have ever thought I'd spend three and a half hours of my weekend watching soccer?

Intimidators Interviews (June)

Tune in to a few of our Kannapolis Intimidators pre-game interviews. Here are the ones we recorded before the All-Star Break in June...

6/5 - Paul Burnside

6/6 - Dan Black

6/7 - Tommy Thompson

6/10 - Phil Negus

6/12 - Rafael Vera

6/13 - Kevin Dubler

6/14 - John Spatola

6/15 - Dexter Carter

6/16 - Reid Kelly

6/17 - Tommy Thompson

6/18 - Ross Wilson

6/19 - Kyle Eveland

Previous interviews this season:

April Interviews

May Interviews (Part 1)

May Interviews (Part 2)

Intimidators Interviews - May (Part 2)

The rest of the pre-game interviews from May 2011:

5/20 - Tommy Thompson

5/21 - Trayce Thompson

5/22 - Spencer Arroyo

5/23 - Brady Shoemaker

5/29 - Ross Wilson

5/30 - Dexter Carter

5/31 - Kenny Gilbert

Intimidators Interviews - May (Part 1)

Here are more of the pre-game interviews with Kannapolis Intimidators players from the first part of May.

5/1 - Drew Lee

5/2 - Ross Wilson

5/3 - Paul Burnside

5/5 - Kevin Moran

5/6 - Matt Heidenreich

5/7 - Chase Cooney

5/8 - Tommy Thompson

5/9 - Kenny Gilbert

5/10 - Jake Wilson

5/12 - Charles Poe ("C-Poe")

----

(Click here to listen to April's interviews)

Intimidators Interviews

With the first half of the South Atlantic League season in the books, now seems like a good time to post some of the interviews I've done with Kannapolis Intimidators players and coaches (including Friday conversations with manager Tommy Thompson) during CMC-NorthEast Pre-Game Show. Feel free to go back through some of the conversations and enjoy the insight and the humor with the Intimidators.

4/15 - Tommy Thompson

4/16 - Addison Reed

4/17 - Kevin Moran

4/18 - Kyle Eveland

4/19 - Mike Blanke

4/20 - J.R. Ballinger

4/21 - Jake Petricka

4/22 - Tommy Thompson

4/30 - Dan Black

A Mavs fan, rewarded

Dallas Mavericks. World Champions.

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Did it really happen? As a fan who has rooted for this team since literally before I can remember -- as a toddler who went to games with my dad at Reunion Arena in the late 1980s -- and seeing this thing through always believing and rooting for the Mavericks, last night's 105-95 win over the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals is the ultimate payoff, for myself and all Mavericks fans worldwide.

And when I think about what this means, not only being a lifelong Mavericks fan who grew up in Dallas, I truly believe that this championship, the first for the Dallas Mavericks, is the most meaningful that I've experienced as a fan. And it makes perfect sense.

First of all, it's the fifth championship won by one of my professional teams that I grew up rooting for: the Cowboys, Mavericks, Stars and Rangers.

The Cowboys won three Super Bowls just as I reached sports-consciousness. I had just turned eight years old when Troy Aikman quarterbacked the Cowboys to the first of three titles in four years. The Cowboys greatness became an entitlement to me, as it to some degree has been for fans of America's Team since the 1970s. I couldn't appreciate just how low things had been just four or five years earlier for that franchise when Jerry Jones fired Tom Landry in 1989, and the Cowboys followed with a 1-15 season.

Now as a Cowboys fan who has experienced only one playoff victory since the 1996 season, I'm beginning to understand what other NFL fans face year in and year out. Apparently the Super Bowl is not our birthright as Dallas Cowboys fans. It's something I didn't quite comprehend growing up.

As for the Dallas Stars Stanley Cup win in 1999, oh, I was excited about it. I wore my Stars jersey to games during the '99 season, painted my face, cheered in Reunion Arena for this newfangled hockey team that had just come to town six years earlier and was originally marketed as "football on ice" to a gridiron-centric sports town. The Stars went back to the Stanley Cup finals the following year, losing the New Jersey Devils, and have advanced to the Conference Finals just once since then, in 2008 when they fell in six games to the Red Wings. But hockey was never on the forefront of my mind. The Stars were a cool novelty compared to the Cowboys, Rangers and Mavericks, all of which had predated my existence in Dallas.

Yes, the Rangers run last fall was magical. I still don't know how it happened. But to some degree, it came out of nowhere, and there is still a sense of being content with just getting to experience a World Series without actually winning it. I loved the Rangers growing up. I enjoyed going to games at the old Arlington Stadium. Hell, I work in baseball now. A Texas Rangers Championship last fall would have been amazing. It's what the long-suffering Rangers fan dreams of.

Except the suffering of a Rangers fan is different than that of a the Mavericks fan. As a Rangers fan, we suffer through mediocrity year in and year out -- up until last year of course. The Rangers' success came out of nowhere. The 2010 Opening Day starter, Scott Feldman, and No. 2 starter, Rich Harden, didn't pitch in the postseason. The Cliff Lee deal? Was anyone expecting that at all? No. Rangers fans slogged through 39 subpar seasons with flashes of success in 1996, '98 and '99, but the thought of winning the World Series was never something to be seriously considered. Yes, Rangers fans suffered, but only through the acceptance of rooting for what appeared -- until last season -- to be a perennial loser. Not until 2010 could Rangers fans experience true pride in their team.

The Pain of Mavericks Fandom
But the suffering of Dallas Mavericks fans is that of a dangling championship that appeared would always elude us. Dallas reached the Western Conference Finals in the late 80s, falling to the mighty Los Angeles Lakers in a deciding seventh game. Eventually the Mavericks of Mark Aguire and Rolondo Blackman faded, and the Dallas NBA franchise became basketball bottom-feeders, putting together 11-win and 13-win seasons in consecutive years in the early 90s.

That is where I came into sports-consciousness with the Mavericks. My dad took me to games to root for the Mavericks. I got to see Jamal Mashburn and Jimmy Jackson join a rookie named Jason Kidd to form what was supposed to be the trio to propel the Mavericks to compete for relevance in the NBA. Triple-J had arrived, but nothing ever game from it. Eventually the three left or were sent away from Dallas. Jimmy Jackson was part of the trade to bring Shawn Bradley to Dallas from New Jersey. Jason Kidd was shipped to Phoenix for a young gun out of Wisconsin named Michael Finley.

And still I watched as this ragtag basketball team trudged through games at Reunion Arena, all the while cheering them on with no real expectation of success. Heck, sometimes I even got to see them win. A game. But win anything of significance? Only once.

My dad took me to Reunion Arena on March 12, 1998, to see Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, the defending NBA Champions. The biggest star in the NBA was coming to our neck of the woods. It was like a great national concert tour that was going to make a stop in our little city. Sure, the Mavericks were going to probably get crushed by the two-time defending champs, but who cares.

Then out of nowhere, something completely unexpected happened. We won. Wait, what? The Mavericks beat the Bulls, 104-97. I can still remember standing at the end of a concourse tunnel as the final seconds ticked off the clock. That night, I can still remember calling in to 106.1 Kiss-FM in Dallas to tell Sammy G how "I wanna be like Mike ... FINLEY!" It was the best win in Dallas Mavericks history in my sports-consciousness. I was just two years or three years old when Dallas went to the conference finals against LA in the 80s. But this win over the Bulls was the ultimate win.

The win over Chicago was so big that the Mavericks put out a VHS of the game, "Unforgetta-Bull: Mavericks shock Bulls 104-97 in OT" and a copy of that tape sits somewhere in my parents house.

Little did I know this win, a win that seemingly would never be surpassed in the annals of Dallas Mavericks history, would pale in comparison the ride we as Mavericks fans were about to take.

In the summer of 1998, just weeks after the Chicago Bulls -- the same team that lost to lowly Dallas in March -- claimed their third straight NBA Championship, that miserable Dallas franchise made a draft day trade for some German teenager that would forever alter how people in the Metroplex and around the world would view this organization.

Dirk Nowitzki.

If you doubted him before, his greatness is now, FINALLY, validated with the label of NBA Champion. But I'm jumping ahead in the story. (Sorry, I still can't believe it happened.)

Building For Success
Dirk's emergence combined with Mark Cuban's purchase of the franchise in January of 2000 kick-started what would become the most successful stretch in franchise history. And short of Tom Landry's 20 consecutive winning seasons, it's the most successful stretch for any Dallas-area franchise ever.

Dallas made the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade after the 2001 season and met the Utah Jazz in the first round. John Stockton and Karl Malone, two Hall of Famers, taking on the little Mavericks' "Big Three" of Michael Finley, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki ... in that order. And when we say "Big Three" it was a big three for Dallas, for a franchise that had tried to assemble it's last "Big Three" with the Triple-J boys of the mid-90s. But it wasn't a true Big Three compared to what we see today with Miami. It wasn't three players who could conceivably win a championship -- and at the time, I think we all knew that but were still happy to root for them.

Utah quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in a then-best-of-five first round series against Dallas as the series shifted to Reunion Arena for Game 3, and if necessary Game 4. The Mavericks won game three. They squeaked by in Game 4, I want to say 94-93, but I can't remember and don't feel like googling. The series was going back to Utah for Game 5. Wow, so this is what playoff basketball is like?

I was experiencing it for the first time in my life. Playoff basketball was new to me. I'd never had a team to root for, never had a dog in the fight until now.

And facing a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of a deciding Game 5 in Utah, the Dallas Mavericks led by Michael Finley and Steve Nash with help from Dirk Nowitzki came charging back to eliminate the Jazz. At that time, I was convinced Calvin Booth was going to forever hold a place in Dallas Mavericks lore ... and maybe because that playoff series win was the first to start this amazing run, perhaps he does. (What a crazy-ass realization.)

Can't Settle For Satisfactory
Dallas started a string of 11-straight 50-win seasons, and with each year, Mavericks fans -- now fully embracing our new "Mavs fans" persona became less and less enthralled with playoff participation and more and more focused on achieving success. The mindset shift, I feel, came in the 2003 postseason. Dallas began the playoffs with a first-round series (now in best-of-seven format) against the Portland Trailblazers. The Mavericks Mavs jumped out to a 3-0 series lead before dropping the next three games as the Blazers forced Game 7. Dallas prevailed, advancing to the next round.

Enter the Sacramento Kings. Dallas and Sacramento began a seven-game series that highlighted what would be my final few weeks of high school. In one of the first two games of the series in Dallas, the score was 44-40 Dallas after the first QUARTER. By halftime, the high-scoring blitz saw the Mavs lead, 83-80. And these numbers are coming from memory. I know I have these numbers right. In fairness, I don't remember the final score of that game. I'm not even sure if we won that high-scoring affair. I just know the series was a lights-out shootout. Chris Webber went down with a knee injury early in the series, and Dallas and Sacramento eventually found themselves in Game 7 in Dallas, on the exact same night as my senior stinkin' prom.

My little brother Matthew and a friend went to Game 7, getting to witness the Mavericks advance to the Wester Conference Finals against the in-state rival San Antonio Spurs. Meanwhile, I was at prom with my high school girlfriend. There were no smart phones. There was no "checking the score" to see how the game was going. At some point, someone made an announcement that Dallas won, but I never saw a second of the game. The night, for me, was highlighted when I got back to my then-girlfriend's house (no, this isn't going where you think it is ... remember, I'm a sports nut, so my focus was not where other high school seniors' focus would be after prom). My girlfriend's dad was at the door waiting for us, and he handed me a printout of the post-game story detailing Dallas' success. That, to me, was awesome on his part, and is in fact my highlight memory from senior prom.

Dallas stole Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals in San Antonio despite only leading for something like 67 seconds of the game, but Dallas shot 49-50 from the free throw line (again, I promise you I'm not looking these numbers up. Someone feel free to google and see what I've missed, but I doubt it's much of anything. In fact, it was Eduardo Najera who missed the first free throw for Dallas before the Mavs made 49 straight in the game.) But Dirk got hurt, and Dallas eventually lost in six games to the eventual champs.

Still, the bar had been raised. Simply participating in the playoffs was no longer satisfactory. Now, we want--, no, we need to win it all. Easier said than done, as we would find out.

That was after the 2003 season. It wouldn't be for another eight seasons that the Mavericks would finally achieve this dream. A new type of suffering was about to begin.

Struggling With Success
Dallas continued to win at least 50 games each year, continued to make the playoffs, but continued to fall short of its ultimate goal. The Mavs showed promising signs. There was a series win over Houston in 2005 after Dallas trailed 0-2, losing the first two games at home. There was a great Game 7 in San Antonio to beat the arch-nemesis Spurs in 2006 to advance to the Conference Finals against MVP Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. Six games later, Dirk helped elevate Dallas to a place it had never been: the NBA Finals.

We all know what happened in 2006. And as much as last night is revenge, 2006 will always hurt. The series was right there. Many Mavs fans will always blame refs, and I can't disagree to strongly based on some of the generous called afforded to Dwayne Wade. Let's just say, I'm glad Bennett Salvatore didn't make an appearance in the 2011 finals. Still, the refs didn't make Josh Howard call timeout after Dwayne Wade's first free throw, not his second, in the pivotal Game 5 (granted, Wade shouldn't have been on the line, but I digress). And no one was complaining about the officiating when Dallas was leading the Heat, 2-games-to-none and up by 13 points with 6:28 left in Game 3.

The next year, Dallas got off to a rough start, beginning 2006-07 with four straight losses before going on to an NBA-best 67-win season, but the first-round loss to Golden State was a kick to the groin of our playoff hopes. Former head coach Don Nelson guided the Golden State Warriors to a six-game series win, becoming the first 8-seed to top a 1-seed in the first round since the NBA went to a best-of-seven first round format. That team was supposed to redeem the '06 Finals collapse. Instead, it was an even bigger failure. As Mavs fans, it was devastating.

Head Coach Avery Johson was jettisoned after the 2008 season and a first-round loss to Chris Paul, David West, Tyson Chandler, and the New Orleans Hornets. Dallas had traded young point guard Devon Harris for aging veteran Jason Kidd. It was a move I didn't understand. It was a move I blasted Mark Cuban for saying he would do it again if given the chance to do it over. It was a move that didn't payoff, and that playoff failure cost Johnson, a former NBA Coach of the Year, his job.

In Avery's goodbye press conference, he noted five things that a championship-caliber team needed to have. At the time, it seemed like he was making excuses for coming up short. But retroactively, it seems he was right, because it's those five things that Dallas put together three years later to achieve ultimate glory.

Avery noted that championship teams need:
1. A superstar player
2. Strong center position
3. Guard that can dribble-drive, get to the free throw line
4. Depth on bench
5. Experience on coaching staff

Well doesn't that sound like the 2011 Mavs?
1. Dirk
2. Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood
3. Jason Terry, Kidd & Barea
4. See Game 4 of the Lakers series
5. Rick Carlisle.

Yeah, so Avery had it right. Dallas, in fact, didn't have the pieces in place to win in 2008. But it's not like Rick Carlisle found the magic formula right out of the gate. Fans were calling for his head after last season's first-round exit to the seventh-seeded Spurs. The Mavs lost in the first round for three times in the last four seasons. Maybe that window that Dallas flung open with Dirk's and-one against Manu Ginobili in Game 7 in San Antonio in 2006 was slamming shut before our eyes.

50 Redundant Wins
Dallas was rocking and rolling to start the 2010-11 season. There were plenty of big wins, and the Mavs were one of the NBA's best teams before injuries to Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler proved to be significant setbacks, leading to a six-game losing streak, the longest since Mark Cuban bought the team, but merely "just another week" by 1990s franchise standards.

In November, the Mavs had a great come-from-behind win over the Detroit Pistons, at which time I wrote this blog about the greatness of Dirk and what we as Mavs fans were fortunate enough to witness. At the time I wrote it with the hope that one day he would win at title but knowing the reality didn't look too good. I finished the post by saying:

There will at some point come a time when he no longer suits up for the Mavs. I hope it's not for a while, because as he displayed on Tuesday night against Detroit, he is still very much capable of dominating a game in the NBA. But when his time as a Maverick is done, with a ring or not, he will be looked back at as one of the greatest sports figures the DFW metropplex has ever seen. He'll be up there with Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Nolan Ryan. He's one ring away from immortality status as far as the rest of the NBA is concerned, but here in Dallas, let's hope his team's fans know better than that.

He's already achieved it.

It feels so much better knowing his legacy will not be accompanied with the Stockton/Malone-esque "greatest to never win a championship" label.

Dirk and Mavs finished the 2010-11 season is somewhat of a slump, although it's hard to remember now. Dallas was 0-8 against playoff teams to finish the season and had lost out on the second seed to the Los Angeles Lakers, setting up a second-round match up with LA holding home court.

Bracing For Another Disappointment
There was no indication this would be a special playoff run at the time the post-season began. Dallas started off with two wins against Portland at home before dropping Game 3 on the road. Nevertheless, the Mavs had a 2-1 series lead with home court in the series, but was facing a Portland team that many predicted to upset Dallas in the first round (little did we know it would be the other Texas playoff team, San Antonio, that would suffer a first-round exit at the hands of Memphis). Then, the moment Mavs fans have sadly become accustomed to occurred.

Dallas led by 23 points against the Blazers when Brandon Roy had a career performance, scoring 24 points and leading a shocking comeback to tie the series, 2-2. If the window of opportunity for Dallas to win a championship was still open at this point, it wasn't by much. Buckle up, because this was the first-round upset everyone was project about to happen. Dallas was cooked.

But then, something different happened. Something even the most diehard of Mavs fans might have been cringingly expecting. Dallas didn't complete the collapse. Instead, they bounced back, winning Game 5 and going into Portland to win their first road playoff game in the last 10 years (okay, that stat is not accurate, but it sure felt like it before the LA/OKC/Heat series, right?). Dallas closed out the series in six games but would have an even bigger task waiting for them in the next round.

Defeating Goliath
The two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers earned home court by winning two of three games against the Mavs during the regular season. Kobe Bryant is an assassin with a basketball, and his supporting cast is nothing to scoff at. He has former, current and future All-Stars all around him along with the greatest coach in NBA history, Phil Jackson, on the bench to guide this basketball juggernaut against the Mavericks who barely edged the Blazers in the first round.

Dallas and Los Angeles went down the final minute with the game still in doubt, but Dirk made the plays when it mattered and Kobe clanged out what could have been the game-winning three as time expired. Dallas escaped LA with a Game 1 win, 96-94, and captured home court. Good. Now Dallas could just take care of business at home and win the series. Wasn't that what we all were thinking?

If you were thinking Dallas would sweep, you're either A. mentally challenged, or B. a LIAR! (and you've already read all this, so I doubt you're not all there in the head).

But that's what Dallas did, including an all-out blitz in the Game 4 clincher that was marred by flagrant fouls from Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. I thought J.J. Barea might have died that day. How he survived that cheap shot from Bynum, let alone was still able to play in that game, heck, in these playoffs, was amazing. If anyone was going to question the collective toughness of Dallas anymore, just look at that play. The Mavs were going to take every shot put on them, both legitimate within the game and otherwise, get back up and continue to go to work. With a defeat of the Lakers, Dallas had a clear path to the finals basket with San Antonio already out of the picture. A return to the Finals was the light at the end of the tunnel, and we could clearly see it.

Handling The Little Brother
Dallas faced the new young guns of the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder. If you really think about it, the Thunder is exactly where Dallas was in 2003, a young team finding itself on the brink of the Finals for the first time. Maybe the lights were too bright for them on that stage, or perhaps Dallas simply willed themselves past OKC. Whatever had happened in that series prior to Game 4, however, didn't matter.

The Mavs trailed by 15 points with five minutes to play. Oklahoma City was sending the series back to Dallas tied, 2-2. The Mavs would have three games, including two at home, to win two more to advance to the NBA Finals. Not a bad position to be in at all. But that wasn't good enough for these Mavs. Dirk put Dallas on his back, the Mavs ended the game on a 17-2 run to force overtime, where they went on to part the clouds with a 112-104 win, sending the series back to Dallas 3-1, and the Mavs closed it out in front of their fans to advance to the NBA Finals.

But when Dallas was awarded the Western Conference Finals trophy, they didn't celebrate. Instead, Dirk walked off the stage, headed to the locker room. His teammates saw this and followed. This was not the trophy they came for. There was still work to be done. They have one of these trophies... and its meaning is hollow after how 2006 ended. The tone was set. Dallas was going back to the Finals on a mission.

A Familiar Foe
If Mavs fans dreamed of making a run to the Finals as the 2010-11 season began, it might have been wise to anticipate a rematch with Miami after they assembled their three-headed monster in the offseason. LeBron James was the big national story, but to Dallasites, Dwayne Wade was the true enemy. Wade, not LeBron, took what we were so close to capturing in 2006. Wade, not LeBron, said Dirk wasn't the leader Dallas needed him to be after that series. Wade, not LeBrong James is who Dallas needed revenge against. But beating the self-proclaimed King in the process, that's just icing on the cupcake.

Wade quickly reminded Mavs fans of what they were up against in 2006, pushing the Heat to wins in Games 1 and 3. The Mavs had a chance to win Game 3, but Dirk's shot, his flamingo one-footed fadeaway didn't fall -- perhaps for the first time ever? -- and Miami led the NBA Finals, 2-1. The Mavs would need to win three of the next four games if they were going to validate the previous decade's streak of 50-win seasons and the franchise's entire existence with a championship.

Dirk's flu game in Game 4, followed by an offensive outburst for the first time in these Finals in Game 5 put the Mavs on the brink, one win away from a title for the first time ever.

Last night, June 12, 2011, the Dallas Mavericks finished the job. Dirk bounced back from a 1-for-12 first half in which Jason Terry dragged the Mavericks kicking and screaming to an improbable 60-57 halftime lead. The Big German shook off the cobwebs after the break for 18 second half points to achieve him dream, to help us as Mavs fans achieve a dream of all of ours. There's no need to go into overdrive on last night's Xs and Os for why Dallas won, but it was so very fitting that the one Mavericks aside from Dirk who made the Championship-clinching victory possible was the same Maverick who took so much heat - no pun intended - since his arrival in Dallas simply because, frankly, he wasn't Steve Nash. Jason Eugene Terry, the JET, finally took flight to new height, scoring a game-high 27 points as the Mavericks etched themselves into immortality as NBA Champions.

Meaning
Forever the names of these Mavericks players will hold a special place in the heart of all Mavs fans. Dirk Nowitzki would have been remembered as the greatest Mav ever regardless. Now, it's just got a nicer ring to it (that time, yes, pun intended). Jason Terry is also now a Maverick-immortal. And the names of Tyson Chandler, Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea, Shawn Marion, DeShawn Stevenson, Brendan Haywood, Peja Stojakovic, Brian Cardinal, Corey Brewer, Ian Mahinmi, and even Caron Butler along with head coach Rick Carlisle, this will forever be the group that got it done for Dallas. These are the ones who brought Larry O'Brien to Dallas. Their legacy, in our eyes as Mavs fans, is forever sealed. Much in the way I remembered Calvin Booth's contributions as a young Dallas team beat the veteran-laden Jazz in 2001 to begin this incredible journey, I will remember these players who came along a decade later for finishing the job.

The Dallas Mavericks are NBA Champions. If it means suffering through the types of 11- and 13-win seasons we had to endure in the early 90s, so be it. Because we will forever be able to look the rafters of the American Airlines Center to remember what was accomplished this year.

Long before Mark Cuban's marketing team coined the phrase, I was a Mavs fan for life. And today, I find myself living a dream.

Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks, the 2011 NBA Champions, and thank you for rewarding our loyalties with your demonstration of class, dignity, and above all else, a title. This season will live into eternity.