The Bullpen

Bill Jones

Here’s a look at the new district alignments for the 2010-12 school years, as announced this morning by the University Interscholastic League:

District 3-5A                                                    District 4-5A

Abilene                                                             Arlington

Abilene Cooper                                                 Arlington Bowie

Midland                                                            Arlington Sam Houston

Midland Lee                                                      Arlington Lamar

Odessa                                                             Arlington Martin

Odessa Permian                                                FW Paschal

                                                                        North Crowley

                                                                        Weatherford

            Abilene’s prayers are answered!  After being the odd team out two years ago and having to travel to the Metroplex for league games, Abilene is back where it belongs because Cooper moved back up to Class 5A.  Arlington schools have to love this arrangement, though North Crowley should rule in basketball.  Potentially tough non-district football games for 4-5A.

District 5-5A                                                    District 6-5A

Cedar Hill                                                         Trinity

Duncanville                                                       L.D. Bell

Grand Prairie                                                     Grapevine

South Grand Prairie                                           Colleyville Heritage

Midlothian                                                         Haltom

Mansfield                                                          Richland

Mansfield Legacy                                              Irving

Mansfield Timberview                                       Irving MacArthur

                                                                        Irving Nimitz

            Midlothian, Legacy, and Timberview all move to 5A for the first time.  That moves southern Dallas County schools like Cedar Hill and Duncanville out of a district with the Irving schools.  Irving ISD, thus, gets paired with schools along the 183/121 corridors.  In football, it should make for interesting battles for 2^nd place behind Cedar Hill and Trinity in each district.

District 7-5A                                                    District 8-5A

Southlake Carroll                                               Allen

Coppell                                                             Plano

Denton Guyer                                                    Plano West

Keller                                                                Plano East

Keller Central                                                     Hebron

Keller Fossil Ridge                                             Flower Mound

Justin Northwest                                                FM Marcus

Saginaw                                                            Lewisville

            It’s disturbing that the UIL doesn’t pair natural rivals together.  Once again, Southlake Carroll is not in the same district as neighboring schools, Grapevine and Colleyville Heritage.  I mean, their two football stadiums are right across the street from each other, yet they aren’t in the same district!  Go figure.  Since it will be a major rebuilding year for Carroll, don’t be surprised if Denton Guyer is the pre-season football favorite.  The Wildcats return one of the top dual-threat QBs in the state in J.W. Walsh as they move up to 5A for the 1^st time. 

District 8-5A is a killer district – Allen and the Plano schools paired with Lewisville ISD – wow!  The bi-district match-ups between 7-5A vs. 8-5A should be very compelling.  You could have Division II first round games pitting Carroll vs. Allen and Guyer vs. Hebron, as well as a Division I pairing of Coppell vs. Plano.

District 9-5A                                                    District 10-5A

Dallas Jesuit                                                      Garland

Dallas Samuell                                                   Lakeview Centennial

Dallas Skyline                                                    Garland Naaman Forest

Dallas Sunset                                                     North Garland

Dallas W.T. White                                             South Garland

Richardson                                                        Rowlett

Richardson Berkner                                           Sachse

Lake Highlands                                                  McKinney Boyd

            From a competition standpoint, Jesuit has to be elated to be out of the Allen/Plano district.  However, Skyline is the football heavyweight in 9-5A.  The Garland district remains the same except for the addition of McKinney Boyd.

District 11-5A                                                  District 12-5A

DeSoto                                                             Bryan

Longview                                                          A&M Consolidated

Tyler Lee                                                          Copperas Cove

Mesquite                                                           Temple

Mesquite Horn                                                  Belton

North Mesquite                                                 Killeen Ellison

                                                                        Killeen Harker Heights

                                                                        Killeen Shoemaker

            Once again, DeSoto gets the short end of the draw.  I don’t understand how the UIL can justify sending this school to the east again.  Obviously, DeSoto is a natural rival with its neighboring cities Cedar Hill, Duncanville, and now Midlothian.  Yet, the UIL forces the Eagles to travel as far away as Tyler and Longview to play district games.  I understand the goal is to have an even number of schools in as many district as possible to make scheduling easier, but to do this to DeSoto again this year just doesn’t seem fair.  At least, put the burden on a different school this year.  Spread the misery around.  I feel for you, DeSoto.

District 4-4A                                                    District 5-4A

Denton                                                             Aledo

Denton Ryan                                                     Azle

Lake Dallas                                                       White Settlement Brewer

The Colony                                                       Saginaw Boswell

Little Elm                                                          Birdville

Wichita Falls                                                     Springtown

WF Rider                                                          Keller Timber Creek

                                                                        Northwest Byron Nelson

District 6-4A                                                    District 7-4A

FW Southwest                                                   Arlington Seguin

FW Wyatt                                                         Burleson

FW Dunbar                                                       Cleburne

FW Eastern Hills                                               Crowley

FW Arlington Heights                                         Everman

FW Western Hills                                              Granbury

FW North Side                                                  Joshua

FW South Hills                                                  Mansfield Summit

FW Trimble Tech

District 8-4A                                                    District 9-4A

Stephenville                                                       Carrollton Creekview

Killeen                                                              Carrollton Newman Smith

San Angelo Lake View                                       Carrollton R.L. Turner

Waco                                                                Frisco

Waco Midway                                                   Frisco Centennial

Waco University                                                Frisco Heritage

                                                                        Frisco Liberty

                                                                        Frisco Wakeland

            So, how can Frisco have more schools than Waco?!!!  Poor Stephenville!  District 8-4A is so wacky because there are no West Texas 4A schools within a 6 hour drive of  San Angelo Lake View, so the UIL had to dream up a district to cut the travel distance down.  Thus, Stephenville must play schools its never played before.

District 10-4A                                                  District 11-4A

Highland Park                                                   Dallas Adamson

McKinney                                                         Dallas Carter

McKinney North                                               Dallas Kimball

Richardson Pearce                                             Dallas Molina

Rockwall                                                           Dallas Pinkston

Rockwall Heath                                                 Dallas Seagoville

Wylie                                                                Dallas South Oak Cliff

Wylie East                                                        North Dallas

District 12-4A                                                  District 13-4A

Dallas Bryan Adams                                          Denison

Dallas Conrad                                                    Sherman

Dallas Hillcrest                                                  Greenville

Dallas Thomas Jefferson                                    Mount Pleasant

Dallas Lincoln                                                   Royse City

Dallas Spruce                                                    Sulphur Springs

Dallas Woodrow Wilson                                   Texarkana Texas

District 14-4A                                                  District 15-4A

Hallsville                                                           Corsicana

Jacksonville                                                       Ennis

Kilgore                                                              Forney

Longview Pine Tree                                           Lancaster

Marshall                                                            Mesquite Poteet

Nacogdoches                                                    Red Oak

Tyler John Tyler                                                Terrell

Whitehouse                                                       Waxahachie

                                                                        West Mesquite

District 7-3A                                                    District 8-3A

Bridgeport                                                         Alvarado

Decatur                                                             Glen Rose

FW Castleberry                                                 Hillsboro

Lake Worth                                                       Kennedale

Mineral Wells                                                    Venus

                                                                        West

District 9-3A                                                    District 10-3A

Argyle                                                               Anna

Aubrey                                                              Bonham

Gainesville                                                         Celina

Pilot Point                                                          Commerce

Sanger                                                               Van Alstyne

Whitesboro

District 11-3A                                                  District 12-3A

Farmersville                                                       Carrollton Ranchview

Frisco Lone Star                                                Dallas Madison

Lucas Lovejoy                                                   Dallas Roosevelt

Nevada Community                                            Dallas A. Maceo Smith

Princeton                                                           FW Poly

Prosper                                                             Diamond Hill-Jarvis

District 13-3A                                                  District 14-3A

Crandall                                                            Canton

Ferris                                                                Emory Rains

Kaufman                                                           Lindale

Kemp                                                               Quinlan Ford

Mabank                                                            Van

North Forney                                                    Wills Point

Bill Jones

http://twitter.com/cbsdollarbill

Plano West football and basketball star Jackson Jeffcoat has made a decision on which college he will attend.  He'll make his announcement at 10am Friday at Plano West High School.

Jeffcoat has narrowed his choices to Texas, Oklahoma, and Houston.  His twin sister, Jacqueline, signed to play basketball at Oklahoma in November.  His father, former Dallas Cowboy Jim Jeffcoat, is the defensive line coach at the University of Houston.

Here's what Jackson and Jacqueline were saying when I talked to them at Plano West on Wednesday.

 

Cody Winstead

We picked the Saints and Colts to win their title games.  Our early prediction has New Orleans beating Indianapolis in the Super Bowl.

It would have been really cool to see Dirk Nowitzki start in the upcoming All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium.  It shows the one flaw with the NBA.  The league is so much more predictable than any other professional sports league.  It’s become so hard for players and teams to break into the elite level.  You know 6 or 7 of the All-Star starters when the year begins.  You also know 12 or 13 of the playoff teams before the season starts.

Here are five of my favorite ‘under the radar’ players in the NBA.

            C         Brook Lopez                Nets                 19 ppg 9 rbs    21 yrs old

            PF        Paul Millsap                  Jazz                  10 ppg 6 rbs     24 yrs old

            SF        Rudy Gay                     Grizzlies            20 ppg 6 rbs     23 yrs old

            SG       Jerryd Bayless              Blazers             9  ppg 3 ast      21 yrs old        

            PG       Tyreke Evans               Kings               21 ppg 5 ast     20 yrs old

The most remarkable stat I’ve heard in a long time.  The Cleveland Cavaliers are now 42-9 in their last 51 games against the WESTERN CONFERENCE.  That is unbelievable.

Here come the Chicago Bulls.  It was just 6 weeks ago that their lack of energy and enthusiasm made their games unwatchable.  But to their credit they’ve turned it around having won 8 of their last 10 games including victories in Boston, Houston, San Antonio and Oklahoma City.  I have one more thing that needs to be added.  I love the way Joakim Noah plays the game.  He’s the 2^nd leading rebounder in the NBA (12.1 rbs) and is scoring 11 ppg on 49% shooting.  Those are my kind of players.

Let’s make this quick.  Gilbert Arenas deserves to be suspended for the season.  I’m tired of athletes who think it’s their right to play in the league.  The NBA wouldn’t have an image problem if more players treated it like a privilege instead of a right.

Now that the NFL is over, I’m finally getting into college basketball.  I’ve watched about 5 or 6 Syracuse games so far this year and I love Wesley Johnson.  The kid reminds me of former UCONN forward Rudy Gay.  Both guys are really long and very athletic.  I do think Johnson has a better shooting stroke, which should give him an advantage in the NBA.

 

The season ends well for only one of the 32 NFL teams, but for the second consecutive season, it ended very, very badly for the Dallas Cowboys.  However, unlike last season, the Cowboys have some things they can build on, instead of trying to figure out how to re-shape the chemistry of the football team.

The Cowboys now face the toughest challenge in all of sports.  How to go from a good team to a great team. 

So here are some of my reflections on this past season, some decisions that the Cowboys have in front of them, and some thoughts for next year.

1)    Wade Phillips.  Yes, I think it is a good thing that he will be back, even if he does not inspire a great deal of excitement or optimism.  He is a victim of his personality, or lack thereof.  If your measure for success is winning a Super Bowl, than clearly he fell short, and may for the rest of his career. But look at things on face value.  He took over a 9-7 team, and has gone 13-3, 9-7, and 11-5.  That is 33-15, and that is pretty good.  He has the first playoff win this organization has seen in 13 years.  Bill Parcells has no bigger fan than me, but in four years he never won over 10 games here.  He did leave two things to remember him by:  an organization that was in much better shape than when he found it, and a quarterback.

2)    Speaking of that quarterback….Tony Romo made tremendous strides this year, throwing 26 touchdowns against just 9 interceptions.  He was a better leader, because there was a framework in place for leadership to emerge.  That will need to continue.  I truly believe he has his best years ahead of him, and he already has a couple of pretty good years behind him.  But again, taking a good team, in any sport, from good to great is the toughest task of all.  We will see if he is up for the challenge.  Remember, Payton Manning took 6 years before his first playoff win, 9 for a Super Bowl win.  Tony Dungy came in studio for our Sunday night “Score” show earlier this season, and I asked him what he told Manning when he continually came up short.  He said that he told him to keep getting them into the playoffs, he would get better players around him, and they would get it done.  That is exactly what happened.

3)    Roy Williams?  Wow, He was simply unproductive, and the Cowboys are going to have to make the hard decision.  Do we play Roy because of what we gave him and what we gave up to get him, or do we play the best player?  Kevin Ogletree was so much better than Roy this year that it wasn’t even close.  The kid may be a real player.  They waited four years to unleash Miles Austin on the rest of the league.  They can’t wait that long for Ogletree.  I was really hoping that someone (Jerry?  Wade?  Jason Garrett?) would go to Roy and say, “We have to play the best player right now, and that is Kevin Ogletree.”  That didn’t happen.  Roy Williams is a limited player.  The Cowboys need to accept that it was a bad trade, and not be burdened by that trade.  Bad trades happen.  Bad drafts happen.  You move on.  Organizations have to make the hard decision.  They made it with Terrell Owens.  Now they need to make it with Roy.  That doesn’t necessarily mean release him, but it does mean you tell him he will have to earn his spot next year, that his starting role is not a Supreme Court Lifetime Appointment. Moreover, while we are on the wide receiver position, they need to take one high in this year’s draft.  The NFL has become a passing league, and you have to have somebody to throw it to.  The greatest contribution…and let me make this clear…you do not want to see an injury to anyone…was Roy getting hurt in Denver and missing the Kansas City game, allowing Miles Austin to let people know that he could play a little.  No injury, no Miles, and maybe, no playoffs.

4)    What a nice segue into this thought.  Don’t worry about stopping the run and running the football.  That has gone the way of the gas guzzling SUV.  3 of the top 4 rushing teams, and 6 of the top 10, did not make the playoffs.  7 of the top 8 passing teams did make it, and the one that did not (Houston) finished 9-7.  The Cowboys held Adrian Peterson to 63 yards on 26 carries, a 2.4 average.  They lost 34-3.

5)    I know it has been given the once over, but really, what were the Vikings doing going play action and throwing a touchdown pass on fourth and three?  Yes, the Cowboys are big boys, and yes they are getting paid to stop the other team, but really?  It just showed a lack of respect for the game and their opponent.  I like Brad Childress, I really do.  But it sounds like he was mad at the national media for picking Dallas over his football team, so he took the opportunity to rub it in.  In psychology, it’s called displacement.  You know, bad day at the office, so you go home and kick the dog.  That one had me scratching my head.  And spare the lame stuff about the Cowboys using their time outs.  That was with 6 minutes to go in the game.  Improbable that they could make up 24 points in 6 minutes?  Yes.  Impossible?  No.

6)    And finally, I know I am a few days late in the celebration of Martin Luther King Day, but do yourself a favor and read his, “I Have a Dream” speech.  Dr. King was such a tremendous orator that I think the depth and conviction of his speech gets overlooked.  It was one of the great speeches ever delivered.  Just tremendous and nearly 50 years later, still deserving of your time.

Babe Laufenberg

CBS 11 Sports

The following joint statement was released by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan regarding their negotiations to purchase the Texas Rangers:
 
Tonight, as the exclusive negotiating period announced on December 15 by Hicks Sports Group (HSG) expires, we are on the verge of an agreement that would provide Tom Hicks the value he seeks and the Texas Rangers the resources to become champions.  

We have made extraordinary progress the last couple of weeks and have come too far to walk away now. We are fully committed and prepared to work around the clock if that’s what it takes to reach a final agreement. We are at a point where deals get done as long as both parties share a desire to cross the finish line together. There just isn't much left to resolve.

With the continued cooperation of Tom Hicks and HSG, we are certain an agreement can be finalized so we can immediately get to work on delivering the success this franchise and its fans deserve.

There is no doubt the Texas Rangers are happy to have Vladimir Guerrero working with them and no longer against them.  He’s been a Rangers-killer, particularly in Arlington, batting .394 in 50 games at the Ballpark.

His new teammates are thrilled he’s here and a few of them let him know when the Rangers introduced him to north Texas on Monday.  Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Michael Young all made cameos at the afternoon press conference.

Young and Hamilton shared with me their most “memorable” Vlad moments (honestly, they cracked me up).

“He’s absolutely crushed us,” third baseman Michael Young admitted.  “He’d get on base.  I’d go over there and talk to him, tell him to take it easy a little bit. Playing shortstop was obviously tough enough against him but I played 3^rd against him and it was miserable.”

Young stressed the word “miserable” and gave that face that emphasized the fact it wasn’t pleasant.

“I told Wash (Manager Ron Washington) that when we’d have an infield in situation, I’m not doing it.  I’m going sit back in the outfield grass and take my chances.”

Josh Hamilton admitted he’d been posterized by the former American League MVP during an Angels series in Arlington.

“He hit a line drive about 7 foot off the ground,” Hamilton said.  “I froze and then I came in and I went back and I came in and I then I went back.”  (Blogger’s note: at this point Hamilton is physically demonstrating to me exactly what he did during the game….it kind of resembled a Paso Doble)

Hamilton continued “and it hit the center field wall and I couldn’t believe it.”  

What the Rangers do believe is that they will have one of the most powerful lineups in baseball.  “We’ll be the best offensive lineup in baseball,” Hamilton said with a huge smile on his face.  “It’s hard for me to talk about it.  I’m ready to get out and make it happen.”

He won’t have too much longer to wait.  Rangers pitchers and catchers report February 18^th.

Gina Miller

twitter.com/thatsportsgirl

All games will air live.  The broadcast schedule is as follows:

 Saturday, Jan. 9            12:30 p.m.        Colorado at Texas

                                    3 p.m.              Nebraska at Texas A&M

                                    5 p.m.              Oklahoma at Baylor

Saturday, Jan. 16          12:30 p.m.        Texas Tech at Kansas

                                    3 p.m.              Oklahoma State at Baylor

Tuesday, Jan. 19          7 p.m.              Oklahoma at Texas A&M

Saturday, Jan. 23          12:30 p.m.        Colorado at Texas A&M

                                    3 p.m.              Oklahoma State at Kansas State

                                    5 p.m.              Nebraska at Missouri

Wednesday, Jan. 27     8 p.m.              Iowa State at Oklahoma

Saturday, Jan. 30          12:30 p.m.        Oklahoma at Nebraska

                                    3 p.m.              Baylor at Texas

Tuesday, Feb. 2           7 p.m.              Kansas State at Nebraska

Saturday, Feb. 6           12:30 p.m.        Oklahoma State at Texas Tech

                                    3 p.m.              Baylor at Texas A&M

Saturday, Feb. 13         12:30 p.m.        Missouri at Baylor

                                    3 p.m.              Nebraska at Texas

Saturday, Feb. 20         12:30 p.m.        Baylor at Oklahoma State

                                    3 p.m.              Texas A&M at Iowa State

                                    5 p.m.              Missouri at Nebraska

Tuesday, Feb. 23         7 p.m.              Kansas State at Texas Tech

Saturday, Feb. 27         12:30 p.m.        Baylor at Oklahoma

                        3 p.m.              Texas Tech at Nebraska

Wednesday, March 3   7 p.m.              Kansas State at Kansas

Saturday, March 6        12:30 p.m.        Nebraska at Oklahoma State

                                    3 p.m.              Texas Tech at Colorado

Big 12 Tournament

First Round

Wednesday, March 10, 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m. 8:20 p.m. (Games 1-4)

Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 11, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. (Games 2 & 3)

Semifinals

Friday, March 12, 6 p.m. and 8:20 p.m. (Games 1 & 2)             

The Cowboys game against the Eagles next Sunday January 3rd has been moved to a 3:15pm kickoff

(it was originally scheduled to kick off at Noon)

Statement from Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple:

Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis will not be at tonight's 
game in Washington.  He will be undergoing an appendectomy at a local 
Virginia hospital.  Wes Phillips will handle the coordination of the 
Cowboys special teams units tonight with the assistance of other 
assistant coaches on the Dallas staff.