Mid-Season Fall Sports Report

OK, well the fall sports season has been....surprising.  The biggest evidence of this is in the term I used to describe it.   See, normally it would have been the "Football Report".   But lo-and-behold, something strange happened.

The Dallas Stars started the season 4-0 before falling to an equally fast starting Tampa team last night, 5-4.  Dallas was supposed to be "rebuilding" after an offseason where they lost Mike Modano and Marty Turco, and face financial troubles heading into the 2010-2011 season.  Yet, they've shot out of the gates and played some pretty good hockey, led by point-leader Brad Richards. (who also happens to have been my favorite Stars player over the past 3 years.)   They are playing miserably on the penalty kill right now, but otherwise it seems they may surprise some folks this season.

But talking about the Stars is definitely burying the lead.  North Texas sports fans are coming down off a high from the previous evening of what may be one of the Top 10 Moments in DFW Sports History.  Naturally the first thing that comes to mind is some monumental win by the Dallas Cowboys, some record setting performance on Monday Night Football.  But no, this fall belongs to the "other team" in Arlington, TX....none other than our very own Texas Rangers!  The Rangers dismantled the arch-nemesis New York Yankees last night, IN THE BRONX, 8-0.  Worst post-season shutout loss in Yankees HISTORY.  On the pitching of hired gun Cliff Lee, the Rangers beat Tampa in the ALDS and have gone up 2-1 over the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, and have regained home advantage to position themselves with a great shot to make the World Series.

THAT, friends, is hard to comprehend.  Considering the flat out domination New York has had in the Rangers three previous post-season playoff appearances.  Considering the Rangers have never even BEEN to an ALCS, period.  Considering the injuries, the near-bankruptcy and change of ownership, a rookie closer, the "impossible to have good pitching in the Texas heat" line.....you name it, and there is an excuse why the Rangers cannot be sitting where they are.  But, I can also name two reasons why they can be.....Cliff Lee and Nolan Ryan.   Well three actually, because I want to throw Jon Daniels into the discussion as well.  Dude knows his stuff.   But, what Lee and Ryan bring to the table is more important, and that's ATTITUDE.   And I'm not talking about "oh, we need to keep a positive attitude so that our minds can mentally form a picture of winning and everyone on the team will be in harmony" kinda stuff.   I'm talking about "I'm gonna rip your head off and $#!% down your neck" kinda attitude.   "I'm gonna sack the quarterback and then go after his mother" kinda attitude.   The "we're not going out there to die for our country, we're going out there to make the other poor bastard die for his country" kinda attitude.  To pull from a headline last night on the dallasnews.com website: "Texas Rangers Now Two Games Away From the World Series".   Outstanding.  Throwing out a claw AND some antler for this effort.

And, it couldn't have come at a better time.   Football, in my household at least, has become a dark place in the sports world.  A true "F-word" and a source of great frustration.  My Aggies, preseason darkhorse Big 12 contenders, appear to be pretenders and were exposed badly at home by Missouri this past weekend.  They now stand at 3-3, and appear headed for another 6-7 failure of a season, at best.  The Dallas Cowboys are 1-4, and although they could easily be 5-0, they cannot seem to grasp that it is the details, the discipline, the composure, the concentration, and the overconfidence that is causing them to lose games.  I will always support my teams, don't get me wrong.  But I cannot recall a more disappointing season when both teams were garnering serious discussions of a successful season.  So, the level of sports depression may very well be at an all-time high.

That is, of course, if not for baseball and hockey.  You know, the "fall sports".   Go Rangers!!!!