-       The Mavericks keep on rolling and have now won 13 games in a row after dispatching the Kings, the Bulls, the Timberwolves and the Nets in the past week. Dirk Nowitzki and crew have continued their strong play since the trade deadline but it has been rookie guard, Rodrigue Beaubois that has been a big reason for the success.  Widely thought of as heir apparent to Jason Kidd, Beaubois has seen his minutes rise this past week and his production has followed suit as Beaubois has averaged 27 minutes in the past five games after being a DNP for a lot of the previous month. In these past five games, Beaubois is averaging 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He’s also shooting a shade below 55% from the field and 35% from three. Beaubois is lightning quick in transition and gives the Mavs a whole different element going into the playoffs. After a torrid schedule last week where they played five games in seven days, the Mavs get to relax a bit as they only have two games this week, and they’re against the lowly Knicks and the sliding Bulls. Look for the Mavs keep to keep the engine going full bore and get that win streak up to 15 by week’s end.

5dimes review: NHL: Dallas Stars (29-25-12, 70 points, 10^th in Western Conference)

-       The Stars just finished a week in which that had to face some of the top teams in the league. They came away 1-3, with a surprise victory over the Washington Capitals in Washington on Monday, 4-3 in a shootout. Goalie Marty Turco made 49 saves in that game. In the rest of the Stars games, they were massacred. The Stars gave up 6, 6 and 5 goals in the other three games last week and the defense has been a whole new kind of atrocious recently. The Stars will face four more playoff teams this coming week and look like a good team to bet against as their playoff hopes look grim unless they can somehow turn it around quickly.

Sportsbook: MLB: Texas Rangers – Preseason

-       Preseason is a week underway now and the Rangers got outfielder Josh Hamilton on the field, albeit a couple of games after spring training began. Hamilton came back and went 2-3 and felt fine after the game.

-       Texas acquired relief pitcher Edwar Ramirez from the Yankees for cash. Ramirez, when on, has one of the best changeups in the game.

-       1^st base top prospect and likely to threaten to be a starter out of camp this year, Justin Smoak, has a strained hip and took some time off for treatment.

-       P Rich Harden threw two and 2/3 innings and gave up four runs, walked three and threw a wild pitch. His velocity was in the mid to high 80’s which is a red flag. More to come on the often fragile Harden.

NFL: Dallas Cowboys – Offseason

-       All is quiet in Cowboys land as free agency in the uncapped year is underway. The Cowboys already have a very high payroll and will have to pay out big money to Roy Williams, who doesn’t deserve it, Flozell Adams, who is likely to be replaced in the draft or in some other means, and Marion Barber who is always hurt. Jerry Jones will probably wait until after all the March Madness betting is over and the complex structure of the free agent class of 2010 sorts itself out as the Cowboys are restricted by the “final eight rule” that prohibits them from signing an unrestricted free agent for more than 5.7 + million dollars a year. Look for the Cowboys to look at trading Marion Barber in the upcoming weeks.

Well there really isn’t much else to say except that this is definitely a Dallas Sports WTF moment. Sit back and enjoy this Super Bowl XLV video ad, possibly one of the cheesiest videos I have ever layed eyes upon.

Dallas Athletes sing Faith Hill’s “This Kiss, This Kiss” on YouTube.

The selections announced on Sunday made up of the 30 teams that automatically qualify by winning their conference tournaments, and the at large teams that the selection committee chooses. After all the teams are selected the selection committee must then be seeded or ranked. This seeding or ranking is done by the selection committee.

March Madness Selection Sunday: TV Channel – Time – Coverage
Selection Sunday TV Channel: CBS
Selection Sunday TV Time: 5:00PM Central Time
Selection Sunday Coverage: CBS & ESPN after the Selection Sunday Broadcast

Experience March Madness live in person with NCAA Tournament Tickets from StubHub!

Cure for March Madness Blue Balls
If you have March Madness blue balls and need to fill out a bracket now, don’t worry you can do that. Here is a blank bracket at ESPN, there are buttons to load it in a GIF or PDF so you can print it. ESPN usually does a better job of keeping these updated then it does keeping it’s anchors under control.

You can find it here: ESPN Printable Bracket

StubHub still has tickets to all of the March Madness Events. If you are interested in seeing a game click on the logo to the left.

Win Stuff with your sweet sweet bracket
CBS Sports has prizes you can win including an Infiniti M car, that would be nice to win. They also usually post their printable bracket after selection Sunday, and update it after each round just like ESPN. ESPN is offering $10,000 straight cash money if you win their Tournament Challenge, which isn’t as cool as a car, but stores don’t take cars as payment so the cash would be nice to have.

You can find it here:
CBS Bracket Challenge
ESPN Tournament Challenge

It’s 2010 time to embrace Technology
If you want to get with the times and embrace technology instead of fear it you can get your friends and/or co-workers to register and fill out brackets online. This is nice because you don’t have to rely on the poor math skills of your friends and/or co-workers.

You can find bracket managers at both ESPN & CBS Sports among other places. ESPN & CBS Sports are definitely not the end all be all so if you find somewhere you like to get a printable bracket or manage your bracket, share with everyone by putting it in the comments.

You can find it here:
CBS Bracket Manager
ESPN Fantasy Games Page

Sportsbook Super Bowl Odds (for XLV): Cowboys +1215

NFC Odds (5Dimes Reviews): Cowboys +685

Where do the Cowboys Need Help?

Let’s face it, the Dallas Cowboys are pretty stacked. When you have the monetary resources that the Cowboys have you can put together a pretty solid team. But there are holes in that armor, and Jerry Jones is looking to address those holes in free agency while building for the future in the draft. So after you place your bet on March madness you can spend some time evaluating where the Cowboys need some help.

Tony Romo took a lot of flack last season for the team’s offensive performance. The team ejected Terrell Owens so that Romo could run his offense without any interference. As the season wore on the glaring holes in the offensive line started to show. On the left side of the line, tackle Flozell Adams was less than reliable and tackle Marc Colombo on the right side is still recovering from injury. Romo has no reliable protection on the interior of the offensive line, and that is what caused the offensive problems for the Cowboys last season. With weapons such as Miles Austin and Roy Williams to throw to and Felix Jones on the ground, the Dallas offense is two tackles away from being potent.

Believe it or not the Cowboys actually need a place kicker. The Cowboys went for it on fourth down in the regular season and the playoffs when they should have been able to rely on their kicking. But Wade Phillips opted to go for the first down rather than the sure points and it cost the Cowboys games. There are plenty of kickers to choose from in free agency this year including Neil Rackers and Dan Carpenter if their respective teams do not re-sign them.

The Cowboys secondary may need some patching up as well. Ken Hamlin is not performing up to his contract at safety, and backup Alan Ball has not shown that he has what it takes to be an NFL starter. Look for the Cowboys to let Hamlin go and replace him with someone like Brodney Pool in Cleveland. The problem is that Pool, like most of the desirable safeties in free agency this year, is a restricted free agent. The Cowboys want nothing to do with a restricted free agent in the year before an uncapped season, so look for the Cowboys to be aggressive with trades during the draft. The Cowboys are not known for starting drafted rookies in their first season, so it would be unusual for them to pick a safety in the draft with the intention of making that draft pick a starter.

It was a smart move for the Cowboys to pick up Jon Kitna last season because there were questions as to what the team would do if Romo got hurt. The team has confidence in Kitna and they have no hesitation in handing the ball to the former starting quarterback if Romo should get seriously injured.

There are only a few places where the Dallas Cowboys need to improve to make themselves a playoff contender. It will be interesting to see if Jerry Jones has the patience to address some of his issues in the draft, of if the Cowboys become active in free agency and through trading.

• 1.) New Mexico
• 2.) BYU
• 3.) UNLV
• 4.) San Diego State
• 5.) Colorado State
• 6.) Utah
• 7.) TCU
• 8.) Wyoming
• 9.) Air Force

The teams to beat will definitely be New Mexico and BYU. New Mexico is the #1 seed of the tournament which is no surprise after the went 28 – 3 this season and 14 – 2 in Mountain West Conference play. BYU also won 28 games, but lost 4 regular season games and went 13-3 in Mountain West Conference play earning them the #2 seed.

The Mountain West Conference tournament will tip off with #8 seed Wyoming playing #9 seed Air Force playing a game to see who will play #1 seed New Mexico the next day ( March 11 2010 ).

Mountain West Tournament 2010 Bracket & Schedule

Get Great Mountain West Tournament Tickets at StubHub.com!

Printable Bracket

Mountain West Tournament: First Round – Wednesday March 10 2010

• 2:00 PM Pacific – (8) Wyoming vs (9) Air Force
  TV Channel: mtn-HD

Mountain West Tournament: Quarterfinal – Thursday March 11 2010

• (1) New Mexico vs (8)/(9) Winner
  Game Time: 12:00 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: mtn-HD
• (4) San Diego State vs (5) Colorado State
  Game Time: 2:30 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: CBS College Sports & mtn-HD
• (2) BYU vs (7) TCU
  Game Time: 6:00 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: mtn-HD
• (3) UNLV vs (6) Utah
  Game Time: 8:30 PM Pacific
  TV Channel:CBS College Sports & mtn-HD

Mountain West Tournament: Semifinal – Friday March 12 2010

• (1) or (8)/(9) vs (4) or (5)
  Game Time: 6:00 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: CBS College Sports
• (2) or (7) vs (3) or (6)
  Game Time: 8:30 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: CBS College Sports

Mountain West Tournament: Final – Saturday March 13 2010

• Mountain West Tournament Championship Game
  Game Time: 4:00 PM Pacific
  TV Channel: VS (Versus)

• University of Arizona – Wildcats
• Arizona State – Sun Devils
• University of California – Bears
• University of Oregon – Ducks
• Oregon State University – Beavers
• Stanford University – Cardinals
• UCLA – Bruins
• University of Washington – Huskies
• Washington State University – Cougars

The 2010 PAC-10 Tournament team to beat will no doubt be the Cal Bears who have the best conference record at 12-5. As with any conference tournament leading up to March Madness 2010 there will be a chance for an upset, but I am going with da Bears.

PAC 10 Tournament Tickets on StubHub.com!
Get Great NCAA Tournament Tickets on StubHub.com!

Pac 10 Tournament Round 1: 2010 Pac-10 Tournament Bracket & TV Schedule

March 10 2010 8:00PM Pacific Time on FSN
The #8 and #9 seeds of the 2010 Pac 10 Tournament will play for a chance to play the #1 seed.

PAC 10 Tournament Quarterfinals:
Seed 4 vs Seed 5 – March 11 2010 12:00PM Pacific Time on FSN
Seed 1 vs Seed 8/9 – March 11 2010 2:30PM Pacific Time on FSN
Seed 3 vs Seed 6 – March 11 2010 6:00PM Pacific Time on FSN
Seed 2 vs Seed 7 – March 11 2010 8:30PM Pacific Time on FSN

Pac 10 Tournament Semifinals
PAC 10 Semifinal 1 – March 12 2010 6:00 PM Pacific Time on FSN
PAC 10 Semifinal 2 – March 12 2010 8:30 PM Pacific Time on FSN

PAC 10 Tournament Final
Pac 10 Final – March 13 2010 3:00PM Pacific Time on CBS

PAC-10 Tournament History

2005 Washington – MVP Salim Stoudamire, Arizona
2006 UCLA – MVP Leon Powe, California
2007 Oregon – MVP Tajuan Porter, Oregon
2008 UCLA – MVP Darren Collison, UCLA
2009 USC – MVP DeMar DeRozen, USC

March 14: Selection Sunday
March 16: Opening Round Game at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio
March 18th and 19th: First round games of 2010 NCAA Tournament
March 20th and 21st: Second round games of 2010 NCAA Tournament
March 25th and 26th: Sweet 16 games
March 27th and 28th: Elite 8 games
April 3rd: Final Four in Indianapolis
April 5th: NCAA Championship Game (Indianapolis)

Great Tickets are still available to March Madness games:
March Madness Tickets on StubHub.com!

Conference Tournament Information
These links will take you to in depth conference previews at Midwest Sports Fans.

• Big 12 Mens Basketball Tournament Preview
• SEC Mens Basketball Tournament Preview
• Big East Mens Basketball Tournament Preview
• ACC Mens Basketball Tournament Preview
• Big Ten Tournament Preview
• PAC 10 Tournament Preview
• Mountain West Tournament Preview

Here are the pre Dallas Cowboys Stadium AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship Standings

• Ryan Dungey – 170 points
• Josh Hill – 150 points
• Ryan Villopoto – 147 points
• Davi Millsaps – 134 points
• Justin Brayton – 121 points

AMA Supercross at Dallas Cowboys Stadium Time, Tickets, Riders Event Information

AMA Supercross Day – Date: Saturday – March 20th 2010
AMA Supercross Practice: 12:30PM
AMA Supercross Qualifying: 12:30PM
AMA Supercross Start Time: 7:00PM
AMA Supercross TV Channel: SPEED

The TV broadcast of the AMA Motocross Dallas races will air on the SPEED on Sunday 3/21/2010. The AMA Supercross Lites will be on at 4:00PM Central Time and the AMA Supercross will be on at 5:00PM Central Time

AMA Supercross Tickets:
AMA Supercross Tickets on StubHub.com!

AMA Supercross Parking: Cowboys Stadium Parking Information

Cowboys Offseason

Sportsbook Super Bowl Odds (for XLV): Cowboys +1215

NFC Odds (5Dimes Reviews): Cowboys +685

Cowboys Plan To Spend Or Save?

Most fueled by the fact that the salary cap could expire this coming Friday and 2010 could be an uncapped season, there has been a lot of speculation regarding to what the Dallas Cowboys might do.

After all, the Cowboys are usually the big spenders and with an uncapped year, they could be wheeling and dealing.

But for now, a lot of internet betting experts are actually expecting the Cowboys to go in another direction and chop some salary.

The Cowboys have some big names with big price tags that could be set to go. Wide receiver Roy Williams, tackle Flozell Adams and safety Ken Hamlin are among the names to be rumored.

Of the three, Hamlin is the most likely to go.

Williams has a huge contract but a lot of it is already guaranteed. While the recent talk in regards to him is that he won’t even have a starting role next year and that he’ll have to fight for it, it’s unlikely that the Cowboys cut him loose at this point.

Meanwhile, Adams poses another conundrum. There is no question that he is past his prime but the reality is that there isn’t anybody better right now. A lot of people believe that Doug Free could be his successor but at this point, he isn’t the best option. Realistically, though, given the opportunity and playing time, Free could fit the role.

But Hamlin has an ‘x’ on his back. After signing a huge deal a couple of years ago, he simply hasn’t provided the big plays that were expected to come along with it.

The Cowboys don’t have a whole lot of needs areas, which means that a safety could be picked up in the first or second round, and that would likely spell the end of Hamlin in Dallas.

Overall, the Cowboys won’t be a big player in free agency this year and right now, their main and only focus is the 2010 NFL Draft. Vice president Stephen Jones has stated that they won’t be very active – if at all – when free agency opens up on March 5^th

It’s good that the Cowboys finally understand the importance of the draft. Considering how complete their roster is, a championship may be in sight with one more infusion quality young prospects.