When Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo signed his six-year $67 million contract in 2007, the expectations were high for him and the team. Despite early setbacks in his career, Romo was expected to deliver the Cowboys a Super Bowl title. Now that Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks have won the NBA Championship, it seems as though the pressure for Romo to deliver a Super Bowl title is mounting.

The Mavericks returned to Dallas as conquering heroes. Nowitzki was the playoff MVP, and Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban was hailed as a genius. But when the victory parade was over and the ticker-tape stopped flying, all eyes quickly turned to the Cowboys. Tony Romo has acknowledged the pressure that the Mavericks’ have placed on the Cowboys, but Romo remains confident that the Dallas Cowboys will be Super Bowl contenders this year.

The lockout looks like it could be over as the owners and players scramble this week to sign the new collective bargaining agreement. Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones had the crew at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX start preparing for training camp weeks ago in anticipation of the lockout ending. So the Cowboys should be ready to open camp next week on schedule.

One of the elements of the new CBA will be that free agency for the 2011 season can finally open up. The Cowboys claim that they have few roster needs, but Dallas will be in the hunt for the most prized free agent on the block – Oakland Raiders’ cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. The Cowboys could use help in the defensive backfield, and Asomugha would be a much-needed addition to a secondary that lacks in talent and speed.

The Cowboys may have more upheaval in the secondary as safety Gerald Sensabaugh may test the free agent waters when free agency opens next week. The Cowboys have expressed an interest in re-signing Sensabaugh, but the safety wants to get top dollar and he may have to go to the open market to get it. The Cowboys intend to extend an offer to Sensabaugh as soon as free agency begins.

A casualty of the new CBA could be a training camp ritual that exists at the NFL level and filters all the way down to youth football. The two-a-day workouts early in training camp are being eliminated for a couple of reasons. The additional workout each day is done when players are tired and more apt to get injured. The other reason is the extreme heat that many players endure during a training camp.

Texas Rangers

Heading into Thursday’s series finale in Houston against the Astros, the Rangers had a 1.5-game lead over the Angels in the West, and a win on Thursday would give the Ranges a sweep of their state rivals. That would be a good switch from losing two of three at home against the New York Mets last weekend, and now the Rangers will have a chance to increase their gap on the Angels in the MLB standings as they come back home on Friday for a three-game set against Florida, which will be followed by a visit from Baltimore. Texas has a good chance to win four or five games ahead of their final series before the All-Star break, so the Rangers should put their foot on the gas.

Dallas Mavericks

Even MLB betting players in the area were celebrating when the Mavericks took down the celebrated Miami Heat to win their first NBA title, but now it’s back to business as usual for Mark Cuban and company. The Mavericks began their title defense in the NBA draft, where they had only one pick, selecting Texas forward Jordan Hamilton with the 26^th pick. Hamilton would be a solid addition to the Mavericks, who need to get younger, but then they traded him to Portland for forward Rudy Fernandez (Hamilton was then moved to Denver). And we still haven’t heard anything out of Cuban, who used to have a mouth like a WWE superstar.

Dallas Stars

The Stars’ Brad Richards will hit NHL free agency on Friday, and the prevailing thought is that Dallas won’t be able to resign the set-up man, who had 28 goals and 49 assists for 77 points in 72 games last season, but he made $7.8 million. He has stated that he wants to go to a hockey market and a team with a chance at contending, although salary will surely have something to do with it. There are a lot of teams interested in the biggest fish in the free-agent pond, with Toronto and Tampa Bay (who traded Richards to Dallas) reportedly leading the list of suitors. Even though Richards is 31 years old, whichever team picks him up will boost their NHL betting odds.

Not every player on the Cowboys roster is excited at the prospects that Garrett brings the team. Running back Marion Barber is proving to still be a disgruntled employee that is intent on causing disruption. When Garrett took over the team he instituted a dress policy for charter flights that included dress shoes, a sport coat and a tie. Barber refuses to follow the policy, and rumblings are already starting in the Cowboys locker room.

Garrett did not initially address the issue with any statement or punishment. But the interim head coach announced that Barber will more than likely be punished for not following team rules. Barber has been unhappy all season as he has watched the majority of the running back workload going to Felix Jones. Barber has been brought in on situations that normally do not have an effect on the game. Garrett says he has no intention on changing Barber’s role in the team’s game plans.

The Dallas Cowboys have had kicker nightmares the past two seasons. It could be argued that bad field goal kicking cost them important games in each of the last two seasons. All seemed well this year until new kicker David Buehler missed two relatively easy kicks against the Giants. It did not cost the Cowboys the game, but Jason Garrett has no intention on letting it get to that point. He publicly put Buehler on notice this week indicating that the place kicker needs to improve his accuracy or he will be out of a job.

Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban has chimed in on the firing of Wade Phillips, and Cuban says he understands why the change was made. In Cuban’s opinion, Phillips was allowing a losing culture to grow in the Dallas locker room. The coach had lost the players as far as respect and motivation goes, and when that happens it is time to get rid of the coach. Cuban was quick to point out that the whole process with Wade Phillips had nothing to do with Jason Garrett. It had everything to do with changing the mindset in the Cowboys’ locker room from chaos to a disciplined winner.

Reality entered into the fantasy world of an NFL football game for 12 frightening minutes as the power went out in the New Meadowlands while the Dallas Cowboys were playing the New York Giants. Players and fans were confused and a bit scared as no one knew what was really going on. After 12 minutes, the power came back on. Giants owner John Mara made a joke of the situation when the game was over saying that if he had known the outcome of the game in advance he would have kept the lights off.

Another report, which surfaced in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this weekend, stated that the Rangers have been taken over by Major League Baseball. Tom Hicks has continuously denied this point, although he might just be covering his tracks or in denial if that is, in fact, the awful truth. The last team to be under the operation of Major League Baseball was the Montreal Expos, who were operated by MLB from the winter of 2001 until the middle of 2006 – after they had moved to Washington and become the Nationals.

First of all, I don’t think the club is going to move. It’s highly unlikely, considering there doesn’t seem to be a market that could support the Rangers the way this market could. I believe that the D-FW market can be one of the best, but there are a variety of problems that need to be solved before that can happen.

But those problems are for a different column. This column is focused on what to do about the Rangers ownership right now. In that article by Jim Reeves, team president Nolan Ryan (who somehow doesn’t even actually have a contract!) said that a sale probably won’t be completed until April or May at the earliest, which means this team might be MLB-controlled until 2011 or even 2012.

A quick history lesson: In 2003, the MLB-controlled Montreal Expos (who played 22 “home” games in San Juan, Puerto Rico) were part of a five-way tie for the Wild Card lead on August 28. MLB, however, decided that it could not afford to call up any young players at the September 1 roster expansion date. Orlando Cabrera, the shortstop for Montreal who was traded to Boston the next season, said that the restriction imposed by Major League Baseball was one of the main reasons he wanted to leave the franchise.

MLB did not get that drastic this year. There are quite a few contracts coming off the books for the Rangers this year, but MLB was reportedly why the Rangers did not sign first-round draft pick Matt Purke, although Hicks has repeateadly denied this being the case as well. Fan favorite Marlon Byrd is among those players who don’t have contracts with the team next year, and it doesn’t look like there will be a chance to resign the popular player with the financial trouble the franchise is in right now.

Another hot topic has been the $12 million option Kevin Millwood is on the verge of vesting as he sputters towards the finish line. There have been rumors floating out there that it is possible that MLB could order the team to shut Millwood down the rest of the way in order to save that $12 million. (Of course, there is no way that that figure could be used any other way to help the team.)

Millwood, though, is reportedly going to be pushed back until at least next Tuesday (which could also see Dustin Nippert start on six days’ rest).

Clearly, the Rangers are in disarray. Is it affecting their play on the field? Hard to say, although the recent three of four slide has been maybe the most discouraging stretch of the season other than maybe games four through 11.

Perhaps if a candidate emerged with some deep pockets, this team could get some momentum going and make one last run.

Might I suggest a certain Mavs owner with a perchant for smart investments…?

Downtown ballpark, you say? Some space around where Reunion Arena used to be…

Expos info via Wikipedia

Right after learning that his suit with the SEC had been dropped, Mark Cuban has been sued by a company controlled by Ross Perot, Jr., claiming the Mavs owner wrongfully diverted millions of AAC-related profits to fund the Mavs.

To read the full story from The Dallas Morning News and get all the details, click here.

Lots of legal jargon and seemingly complex terms, so let’s sort it all out.

• Mark Cuban currently owns 76% of the Mavs, making him the majority owner. Perot, called a “very minority” owner by Cuban in an e-mail to The Dallas Morning News, does still own part of the team. Cuban said his biggest mistake was not completely buying out Perot’s interest of the team.
• The lawsuit: Perot’s company, Hillwood Center Partners, said Mark Cuban has used profits from a company he controls (Radical Arena, Ltd.) to help fund the Mavs.
• Perot’s company says the profits from that company should have been redistributed to the partners.
• Cuban owns 92.5% of Radical Arena while Hillwood owns the rest.
• Radical Arena owns around one-third of Center Operating Co., whose ownership is split evenly between Mark Cuban’s Mavs and Tom Hicks’ Stars.
• Hicks is not involved in any way.
• The complaint says Radical Arena’s loans to the Mavs total more than $29 million with an interest rate of 3.5% – a very low rate.
• Cuban guesses that the total amount of interest owed to Perot is somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million.

So why is Perot lodging this complaint against Cuban? His company can only gain the 7.5% of the $29 mil + interest. The other 92.5%? It goes back to Cuban.

Cuban, in the DMN article, compared this lawsuit to Perot “trying to find nickels in the sofa cushion.”

Take that for whatever it’s worth, but I’ve got a feeling this lawsuit is going to fade away just as quickly as the last one did.

Cuban pic: http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/watchdog/blog/2007/11/mark_cuban_dives_into_the_mixe.html

Is he taking a poop?

***UPDATE*** According to the Orlando Sentinel’s Josh Robbins, the Magic will match the Mavericks‘ offer for Marcin Gortat. Great. Looks like we got Otis-ed, with the quite aptly named Magic GM Otis Smith making Brandon Bass AND Gortat disappear from beneath Mark Cuban’s nose like a puff of smoke. Ah well. At least we still have The List.

Brandon Bass was recently snatched up by the Orlando Magic by way of free-agency. So that sucks. There goes the only player on the team that played with any sort of intensity (read: cajones). The good news: looks as if that makes way for Marcin Gortat to be playing his home games at the AAC next season. Though Orlando still has until later this week to match the $5.854 million offer sheet that the Mavs have given to the Polish Hammer, it’s unlikely that will happen considering that the Magic are already over the league’s luxury tax. Any offer will likely cost them twice of what Dallas would end up paying.

But local fans are understandably apprehensive about accepting another big white stiff into our ranks, considering the long and painful road that class of NBA player has inflicted upon us. It’s going to take a lot of fantastic play to overcome what seems like centuries of piss-poor court time from legendary stinkers like Shawn Bradley. Remember when T-Mac rode ol’ Bradley like a horse? I was in attendance that night and I was sure that McGrady was going to get called out by the animal cruelty zealots. Will we ever be able to recover from a shock like that?

So Mr. Gortat, if you do end up coming to the Mavs this summer, take a reeeal good look at what we offer here. Following is a collection of some of the biggest stiffs who have paved the way for your perceived imminent suckitude in this city. This is going to hurt me a lot more that it’s going to hurt you. Good luck!

Top 15 17 Biggest White Stiffs in Dallas Mavericks History

15. Keith Van Horn  

Invisble in the clutch, Van Horn averaged a career 16 points per game. His only full season with the Mavs yielded a paltry 8.9 PPG and proved to be his swan song in the NBA. Stats.

14. Christian Laettner   

That shot at Duke was lucky. The fact that this guy was a member of the original Dream Team is a tragedy. It’s only fitting that this overrated stiff would end up in a Mavericks uniform. Stats.

13. Austin Croshere  

This guy had a career PER of 14.3, yet he could only muster 10.9 as a Mav. That was his poorest season of his illustrious career. Stats.

12. Raef LaFrentz  

Weak Sauce. This guy is a wimp. And he’s terrible. Mucho facepalm. Stats.

11. Nick Fazekas  

D-League Wonder. What a waste of a draft pick. I think this numberless press photo is a testament to how much the Mavs expected this guy to contribute. Stats.

10. Chris Anstey  

Are you kidding me? Another epic draft day fail. Why would you ever draft an Aussie who only started playing basketball at age 17? And ask the Milwaukee Bucks, you should never put any of your eggs in an Australian basket. It’s bound to have a hole in the bottom. Stats.

9. Cherokee Parks  

Sweet tat, boss. Stats.

8. Tom LaGarde  

He’s the goofy-looking dude on the left. This OG sucky stiff has the honor of being one of the first five Mavericks starters when the team began NBA play in 1980. Stats. Honorable mention to Ralph Drollinger, the dude with the ball. His NBA career consisted of six games for Dallas during that inaugural season. Wait — why did they let him hold the ball, again?

7. Evan Eschmeyer  

Hard to find pics on the Web of this guy on the court. I wonder why. Stats.

6. Eric Montross  

I’ve never seen a more appropriate jersey number in the wide world of sports. Stats.

5. Loren Meyer  

Look, he’s all aglow! I could only find pics of Loren Meyer from his old basketball cards. Judging by his career numbers, he probably coulda used that ladder on the court. Maybe he woulda got more run if he could have found a way to sneak that little prop past the scorer’s table. Brilliant first round draft pick, D-Mavs [golf clap]. Stats.

4. Uwe Blab  

Next pick in the 1985 NBA Draft: Hall of Famer Joe Dumars. Here’s Blab’s stats.

3. Greg Dreiling 

This guy sucked for us in 1993-94. So he went to Cleveland the next season. Then he was out of basketball in 1995-96. So guess who the Mavericks decided to sign for the 1996-97 season? You guessed it. Stats.

2. Pavel Podkolzin  

He’s 7’5″. But it’s not like he’s a Michaelangelo-esque physical specimen. He’s sick. Literally. After withdrawing from the 2003 NBA Draft due to a pituitary disorder, the Mavericks made the woeful decision of picking up Pavel Podkolzin in the following year’s first round. What. The. Fuck. This is also the guy who informed me that it was possible to have a career player efficiency rating less than zero with -2.8. Thank you PP! Stats.

1. Shawn Bradley  

This guy is legendary for his ineptitude. And we gave him an obscene amount of money well north of $50 million. Ouch. Check out this compilation of the Top 10 Dunks on Shawn Bradley. Stats.

What’s with the 17 you ask?

In a move that inspired by the Dave Chappelle Show’s Racial Draft, I’ve decided to add a couple honorary members to the list. I know they aren’t white, but who’s going to claim these guys?

*Wang Zhizhi  

This anomaly was the first Chinese-born NBA player. And he’s seven feet tall. And he’s scared to get anywhere near the basket. I could understand hiring this guy if the Mavericks were a traveling carnival. But, after researching for this article I’m beginning to realize that we kind of are. Stats.

*Erick Dampier  

I don’t think that any Mavericks starter has been the target of more scorn than this man. It’s a wonder that he even made it to the league considering that he is handicapped. Playing a professional sport with no balls, no heart and no hands is actually kind of impressive. Stats.

But Gortat may still have hope.

Check out this gnarly Air Jordan tattoo that he sports on his calf.

So he’s still big, but does this take away any of his white-ness or stiff-ness? I mean Jordan was pretty much the opposite of the type of player that we’ve lambasted today, so I’m gonna say that Jortat might just get a pass on this one. Only time will tell.

Distractions, distractions. The US Open odds aren’t offering anything thanks to the rain, and Dallas sports fans probably want to get their minds off the Rangers with the injuries piling up, so it’s time to focus on the offseason for other Dallas teams.

The Dallas Cowboys

There’s a new wildcat in town. Last week, Patrick Crayton was taking snaps in the Cowboys’ version of the wildcat, the “Razorback.” Now, it’s Tashard Choice. He proved he can handle starting halfback duties as an injury replacement but is buried behind Marion Barber and Felix Jones on the depth chart, so the Cowboys are seeking a way to get him involved.

With cornerback Anthony Henry gone, the pressure is mounting for Jerry Jones to bring back Adam “Pacman” Jones to help the secondary. As of last week, however, Jerry Jones still denies that the Cowboys have any plans to re-sign him.

The Dallas Mavericks

No major news to report here, unless you’re excited to learn that Mark Cuban was named the MVP of the Reebok Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game after hitting a tiebreaking two-run double to lead his team to victory.

The Dallas Stars

It’s been an offseason of change for the Dallas Stars and, possibly, their offshore sportsbook odds. Two weeks ago, it was a new GM (Joe Nieuwendyk); last week, it was a new head coach (Marc Crawford). This week, could it be a new goalie? Marty Turco’s starting job is relatively secure but the Stars are rumored to be one of the teams courting Swedish netminder Jonas “the Monster” Gustavsson, widely regarded as the best goaltender not in the NHL. Last year, Dallas won the Fabian Brunnstrom sweepstakes, so they can’t be counted out his time around if you’re making summer sports predictions.

The College World Series

Texas sighting! The No.1-seeded Longhorns extended their CWS record to 2-0 with a come-from-behind win over Arizona State. They rallied for a six-run inning and didn’t do it against a slouch – they did it against Mike Leake, who many baseball predictions specialists think is the best college pitcher not named Stephen Strasburg. The win catapulted Texas into the final four and they’ll play the winner of Arizona State/North Carolina for a berth in the championship series.

First the backstory…

Mark Cuban is no stranger to MLB, as he has previously stated his interest in owning an MLB franchise. He expressed interest in the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise, but never made any substantial moves. In 2007 however, Cuban put his hand up in the race to purchase the Chicago Cubs after the sale of the franchise to Sam Zell. In July, Cuban sent an application to MLB. In October of that year, Cuban stated that he would more than likely make a bid on the Cubs, which he did in July of 2008, when Cuban made an offer on the Cubs of $1.3 billion. Mark Cuban was later taken out of the running when he was indicted on insider trading charges.

In January 2009, Cuban explained his reasoning behind the move for the Cubs on his blog. Cuban explained that his goal was not to outspend major contenders such as the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees, but rather make the Cubs a leading National League team while keeping them in the second tier of payroll spending. This would have allowed him to invest in scouting and the Chicago Cubs farm system. Cuban sought to create a winning team while establishing a solid infrastructure for developing talent within the franchise.

Cuban explains that the economic crisis was a major hindrance to his purchase of the team. With a number of franchises struggling during the recession, it is no surprise that Mark Cuban, or any other owner or potential owner would rethink any major investment. Nevertheless, Cuban has asked for an extension on consideration for his bid, in hopes that he can still become a part of the Chicago Cubs franchise.

Professional sports is ultimately a business, and the reality is owners, much to the frustration of fans, often care more about the bottom line than fielding a competitive team. However, Mark Cuban is not merely an owner, but also a fan. Cuban has reinvigorated the Mavericks organization and built a competitive team. This has led to an increased fan base and a larger source of revenue for Cuban and the Mavericks.

Ultimately, a figure like Cuban is good for sports. Don’t get me wrong, I hate it when Cuban gets vocal regarding games or refs. In some cases he is an obnoxious fan with too much money. However, Cuban puts that money to good use and it has proven especially beneficial to the NBA.

Imagine having a vocal owner in MLB who cared about fielding a competitive team. Cuban is a lightning rod for publicity and would greatly enhance the competitive atmosphere in Chicago and in the National League. It is a certainty that an owner like Cuban would create more publicity for MLB and help to grow a large fan base, which would in turn drive revenue through ticket sales and merchandise sales. More importantly however, the quality of the game would be improved with more competitive teams developing talent in house. It is possible that big spenders such as Steinbrenner with the Yankees would no longer have such a dominance over the league, and more Cinderella stories would rise to the top.

Ultimately, the recent history of MLB is one of steroids, controversy, and owner greed. The integrity of the game has been called into question repeatedly, and fans are tuning out in increasing numbers. The league needs a boost of energy to regain it’s status as the pinnacle of American sport. Perhaps Mark Cuban is just the shot in the arm needed to revitalize MLB and get fans back in the seats.