Dallas Sports Fan – Rangers Kick Off Second Half, Bryant Tells Cowboys Not To Worry

MLB betting players are getting ready for the second half of the baseball season, and Texas is aiming to carry their momentum from the end of the first half over. Meanwhile, while the NFL is no closer to ending the lockout, that doesn’t mean there aren’t stories coming out of the Cowboys’ camp.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers swept Baltimore and Oakland at home to wrap up the first half, and then they sent five players to Arizona to play in the All-Star Game. Josh Hamilton started in center field, while Adrian Beltre was promoted to start at third base as New York’s Alex Rodriguez pulled out because of a knee injury. Pitchers Alexi Ogando and C.J. Wilson represented the team, as well as veteran Michael Young, and the Rangers made an impact on the game. Hamilton and Beltre got two of the American League’s six hits, while Young struck out in his lone at-bat. Ogando pitched a perfect 0.2 of an inning, but Wilson allowed three runs on three hits, including a homer to Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder, to take the loss as the American League fell 5-1 at Chase Field. The Rangers know how important of an MLB score the All-Star Game can be, as San Francisco earned homefield advantage in last year’s win, and that was a major factor in their World Series victory over Texas. Meanwhile, the Rangers will resume their season on Thursday with a four-game series in Seattle, and then Texas will head to Los Angeles (technically, Anaheim) for three games, and this is a crucial stretch for the Rangers, who lead the West by a game over the Angels and 7.5 games over the Mariners. If they can manage win five of those seven games, Texas’ BetOnline odds to win the West should improve.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys, like everyone else, are still waiting to see if a deal can be worked out, but they were in the news for another reason as former Cowboy Deion Sanders claimed that he was worried about former protégé Dez Bryant, who lost a year of NCAA experience for lying about his interaction with Sanders. Bryant was hampered with injuries in his rookie season, but when he was on the field, he proved to be the most impressive receiver on the roster, but he is being sued for jewelry that he allegedly didn’t pay for, and that is just one of the off-field problems that are following the ridiculously talented 22-year-old. Bryant responded by saying no one needs to worry about him, which sounds about right from a 22-year-old, and the Cowboys have to be really patient with Bryant, who is a game-changer when his head is right. If he can stay out of trouble, a healthy and focused Bryant will be a major factor in the Cowboys’ sports betting odds for this season.

Video – Alex Rodriguez Admits to Taking Steroids While With Rangers

Breaking news from ESPN this afternoon as former Texas Ranger and current New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez has given an exclusive interview to Peter Gammons in which he admits to using steroids.

I could summarize what ARod said, or just let you watch the video of the interview (at least, the portion that ESPN has made available online). Here is Alex Rodriguez, in his own words, admitting to his steroid use while with the Rangers:

First off, for those of you who also read Midwest Sports Fans, you may have seen my post yesterday about the revelation that Alex Rodriguez failed a steroid test in 2003. I was pretty harsh on ARod, and the other 140 players listed in the post who have either been explicitly linked to steroid use or failed an MLB steroid test, not unlike everyone else in the sports blogosphere and sports media.

With ARod’s decision to come clean today, he does deserve a small amount of kudos. Too many players who have gotten embroiled in steroid allegations have either not said anything (Mark McGwire) or continuously maintained their innocence despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary (Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa) or given half-hearted apologies in which they apologize for nothing specific (Jason Giambi). Sure, Alex Rodriguez has had the opportunity to see these strategies fail, and he has already straight up lied about using steroids to Katie Couric on CBS last year, but at least he is not disrespecting baseball fans by attempting to deny, deny, deny when the facts are clear that he cheated.

I’ve become resigned to the fact, rightly or wrongly, that the majority of Major Leaguers were using steroids in the 90s and early 00s. I’m over it, and beyond being upset about it. The only thing that still pisses me off is when players think they just can lie about their use of steroids or deny it, hoping that everyone just forgets about it. In this sense, I have to give ARod a very tiny, miniscule amount of credit. He still cheated, he still lied repeatedly until he was outed, and none of his excuses of being “under pressure” and “the culture of the Rangers and the game” will exonerate him; but, at least he is facing the music now, and doing so publicly.

We’ll see how the rest of the sports world reacts to his admission.