Big 12 College Football Schedule – Week 5

The Big 12 will play 6 games this week 5 of the games are non conference, and the lone conference game will take place between Iowa State and Kansas State. This game will take place at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Aggies will square off against the Razorbacks at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This should be a great matchup between Texas A&M and Nebraska, the spread is currently 0. The Big 12 Matchup of the week is between #8 Oklahoma and #21 Miami. The Sooners are favored to win by a touchdown even though they will face the Hurricanes at Landshark Stadium in Miami, FL. Please see below for complete conference TV listings, odds, standings, and Tickets.

Current Big 12 Teams in the National Rankings

Team	AP	Coaches	BCS
Texas	2	2	-
Oklahoma State	15	13	-
Kansas	16	15	-
Oklahoma	19	21	-
Nebraska	21	22	-
Missouri	24	18	-

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Dallas Cowboys 2009 Training Camp Schedule

One week. That’s all the time left until the 2009 season for the Dallas Cowboys begins with the first practice of training camp.

A lot of intriguing positional battles for the Dallas Cowboys to look into at training camp this year, especially in the secondary and along the offensive line.

So when will all of those battles play out? Find out for yourself right here with the schedule for the Dallas Cowboys training camp in 2009.

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Last chance up north: 2009 PGA Championship TV Schedule and Preview

After a scintillating British Open (even without Tiger Woods making the cut), the 2009 PGA Championship is coming up fast, set to begin August 13 at Hazeltine Golf Club in Minnesota. Tiger Woods will be looking to rebound after only the second missed cut in a major in his career.

Hazeltine has hosted big championships before, with the 1970 and 1991 U.S. Opens both being held there along with the 2002 PGA Championship.

Padraig Harrington is trying to defend his title in the 2009 PGA Championship, but has struggled with swing changes this year and that was evident at the British Open, opening at -1 but finishing at +12.

Here are some other past winners for the PGA Championship, hoping to add their name to the trophy again in 2009: Read more

Dallas Stars release 2009-2010 schedule

Yesterday the Dallas Stars released their schedule for the 2009-2010 season, as they hope to rebound from a highly disappointing 08-09 campaign. You can check out the full schedule here. A few noteworthy aspects:

• After opening at home against Nashville October 3, the Stars have a tough first road trip: at Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Fortunately the games are spread out over the course of six days.
• Stars fans won’t get to see two of the most dynamic players in hockey, as Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin won’t make trips to the AAC this year. The Stars play both teams back to back in March on the road.
• The Winter Olympics will be held next year in Vancouver from Feb. 14-28, putting the NHL on a two-week hiatus. The Games might be welcome for the Stars, as they play four of their last five games before the break and three of their first five after the break on the road.
• The longest home stand comes in the middle of March – when the Stars are home for six straight from March 12 to March 21. The Stars have two four-game home stands and three three-game home stands.
• The longest road trip comes in December, as the Stars will play five straight away from home December 8-17. The Stars also have two four-game trips and six three-game trips.

Last year, for what it’s worth, the schedule seemed to be much more balanced. The Stars had four three-game homestands and four three-game road trip.

One four-game home stand. One four-game road trip.

One six-game home stand. One five-game road trip. (The Stars went 2-8-1 in these eleven games)

It’s hard to properly judge the Stars based on last season because of the staggering amount of injuries. I don’t think the Stars will have quite the poor record they did last season, but I also think they don’t have much room for error. With Tom Hicks having well-documented financial problems, this seems to be a team that will have to hope for a lot of internal improvement. If Marty Turco has the kind of season he had in 2007-2008 and Morrow and Richards are both healthy and productive, this team could make some noise. Otherwise, it could be another long year.

Morrow pic: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/05/05/stars-sharks.html

Do the Cowboys have it this year?

Last year, for all intents and purposes, was a disaster for the Cowboys. Even after a 3-0 start, last year was one of those years to forget. Between the toxic chemistry, Romo’s injury, the collapse of the defense, there just weren’t that many good times as a Cowboys fan.

But, as the Dodgers fans used to say, there’s always next year. And next year is almost here, with training camp starting in almost two weeks. But it’s never too early to take a look at the roster and the schedule to try and handicap the chances for the ‘Boys. First, a brief roster refresher.

ROSTER:

QB: Everything under the sun has been said about Tony Romo already, but I’m still glad that he’s the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. Does he take too many risks? Probably. Is he the greatest quarterback in the game? No. But he is a good quarterback that gives his team a chance to win every game because he can make plays with his arm and his feet. Sure beats the hell out of the gaggle of spares we had before.

RB: Might we have one too many running backs? I didn’t think such a scenario was possible, but with Marion, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice, I think we’re pretty damn close. But I’d rather have too many guys than not enough. Each gives a different look and has different skills; hopefully Jason Garrett can figure out a way to get everyone involved.

WR/TE: With the loss of the traveling circus, I think that this group is going to be a little unproven, but still can be a great receiving corps. Roy Williams is a bona-fide #1 guy, in my opinion. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on last year, but if he struggles early, uh-oh. I think Crayton, Austin and Hurd are all fine in their specific roles if they stay healthy. As long as they are who they are, the receivers will be fine. No questions about tight ends with Witten and the hilarious Martellus Bennett. As long as Martellus stays on the field and doesn’t do something stupid.

O-Line: Here’s where I get nervous. Looking through the depth chart, I see a couple of guys that I like. I think Leonard Davis has been pretty solid and Gurode hasn’t been too bad, but other than that, I don’t think Flozell has much and Colombo is fairly mediocre. Kosier missed all of last year pretty much, and none of these guys are all that young. A little nervous there.

D-Line: Jay Ratliff made big strides last year – I feel pretty good with him as our nose tackle in Wade’s 3-4. The Olshansky signing was a very good one, I think, as it gives us the production of Chris Canty for half of what he got from the Giants. Spears is fine at the other end, and Jason Hatcher and Stephen Bowen seem to be pretty decent backups.

LB: Easily the strongest position on the team. With Ware and Spencer outside and Brooking and James inside, that’s a pretty nice starting four anywhere.

Secondary: A bit of a young crew, but the secondary has made me the most nervous of any spot on the Cowboys even since the beginning of the Parcells era. But I think there are some guys that can be good players here. Terence Newman is installed at one corner; we know that. Past that? It’s kinda up in the air. Mike Jenkins, Alan Ball and Orlando Scandrick are all listed as corners, and Gerald Sensabaugh was brought in to help out at safety, but the secondary could be the Achilles’ heel of this team. Again.

Special Teams: To me, special teams are a lot like defense in baseball. They’re (somewhat) hard to quantify, but can easily swing a game or two. The Cowboys seemed to be focusing on special teams in this year’s draft (a curious decision), but we’ll see how things work out with a kickoff specialist. McBriar and Folk are just fine, however.

SCHEDULE:

Now that we’ve established who will (most likely) be playing for the Silver and Blue this year, let’s see who they’ll be playing against.

Week 1 – @ Tampa Bay

The Bucs were a disappointment last year, and seem to be a franchise in somewhat of a transition after collapsing last year to miss the playoffs. They are a very different team than a year ago, but it might be a little early to know exactly who they are. Still, this one should be a good test for the Cowboys, starting on the road as they almost always do. Prediction: Win, 24-10

Week 2 – v. New York Giants

Opening Day for Cowboys Stadium will certainly be a tough one. Any divisional game is going to be a struggle, and stopping Brandon Jacobs is no easy task. I’m not so sure there’s going to be a huge home-field advantage for the Cowboys, but it’s hard to tell what Eli will throw out there. Prediction: Win, 34-31

Week 3 – v. Carolina

Next week is another prime-time matchup, this time on Monday night against the Carolina Panthers. Carolina is still rolling with Jake Delhomme as their QB, even after last year’s meltdown against Arizona in the playoffs. Julius Peppers will lead a pretty nice defense, though, and Steve Smith is always scary. I don’t think the Cowboys jump out 3-0 again. I’m putting this one as a loss, but I still think they’re 2-1 after three weeks. Prediction: Loss, 27-21

Week 4 – @ Denver

Talk about an overhaul. New head coach Josh McDaniels is making no friends as new coach of the Broncos, completely overhauling a franchise that had previously been pretty stable. I think, though, that early in the season will be the best time to catch the Broncos, while they’re still learning McDaniels’ system. Plus I think the Cowboys’ offense can simply torch the Broncos’ D. Prediction: Win, 42-20

Week 5 – @ Kansas City

An intriguing team and a tough place to play, but I don’t think the Chiefs will quite be there at this point of the season. Again, I’m glad the Cowboys are catching them early. If this game is in Week 10, I wouldn’t be so confident. Prediction: Win, 19-17

Week 6 – BYE

Week 7 – v. Atlanta

This one will be a huge game. Atlanta will be a very serious contender this coming season. No question. I don’t see any year-after syndrome. Tony Gonzalez was a great pickup for these guys, although the loss of Brooking could hurt a little. A great barometer game for both teams. This seems like another Nick Folk game. Prediction: Win, 30-28

Week 8 – v. Seattle

A seemingly nice little breather, but a HUGE, ENORMOUS trap game. A really good team finds a way to get themselves up for both of these games. Are the Cowboys really good? Right now, I’d say no. Prediction: Loss, 27-24

Week 9 – @ Philadelphia

Yikes. The schedule ramps up quite a bit after some relatively easy games early. These games at Philly are never usually fun. Except for that one ridiculous, miraculous comeback we had on Monday night in the Bledsoe era. I remember the feeling after seeing the newspaper in the morning, not knowing how the game ended. Sure beat the feeling after last year’s game. Prediction: Loss, 31-17

Week 10 – @ Green Bay

Ugh. Another tough one. Green Bay had a really weird season last year. Shouldn’t they have been a lot better than 6-10? Or whatever they finished at? They’ll be a lot better this year, I know that. They were one of the youngest teams in football. Not good playing at Lambeau on November 15th, either. Prediction: Loss, 28-10

Week 11 – v. Washington

Another tough division game. I’ve got the Cowboys losing three in a row right now, sitting at 5-4 on the year. This one could be a must-have for the playoff push, so I think we’ll throw everything we’ve got at the Redskins. Plus I think we’ll make up for what happened last year at home against Washington. Prediction: Win, 24-14

Week 12 – v. Oakland (Thanksgiving)

Let’s make this simple: If the Cowboys lose this game, the season is over. Prediction: Win, 35-7

Week 13 – @ New York Giants

Why do we always play the Giants on this week of the season? I guess we played them here in December last year (a rare high point) but it seems like 3 of every 4 years or so, we’re in the Meadowlands in December. And how many times have we come out on top then? I thought so. Prediction: Loss, 28-17

Week 14 – v. San Diego

Hmm. This is usually about the time San Diego gets on a roll after starting 1-5 or whatever. So this game scares the crap out of me. Although we usually have one good game down the stretch. Although usually surrounded by three bad ones. Prediction: Win, 35-31

Week 15 – @ New Orleans

Right now in the season, the Cowboys are 8-5. Two more wins locks up a playoff berth for sure. New Orleans, however, could be in the same boat. Especially with their offense. Against the Cowboys secondary. Prediction: Loss, 37-27

Week 16 – @ Washington

I know we won there last year, and I don’t think Washington will be challenging for a playoff spot. But is there ANYTHING Redskins fans would like more than seeing the Cowboys out of the playoffs? Besides the Redskins winning the Super Bowl, no. Prediction: Loss, 17-13

Week 17 – v. Philadelphia

Now the Cowboys are 8-7. Still probably with a chance to get into the playoffs, although they probably need quite a bit of help. Prediction: Win, 44-6

So we sneak in with a record of 9-7 after reversing it on the Eagles after last year. If the Cowboys can make the playoffs, though, anything can happen. Especially if the Cardinals can make it to the Super Bowl.

Ware photo: thesportsmeister.com

Romo photo: josethesnake.wordpress.com

Barber photo: http://cowboys.beloblog.com/

2009 British Open TV Schedule

The 2009 British Open should be one for the books. Besides returning to Turnberry, the site of one of the most famous tournaments in golf history (Watson against Nicklaus in the 1977 “Duel in the Sun”), the championship gets a boost from Tiger Woods, returning after missing last year’s Open Championship. But in order to win the 2009 British Open, he’ll have to beat the two-time defending champ, Padraig Harrington.

Phil Mickelson will not be competing in the 2009 British Open, deciding instead to stay home with his wife Amy, who is battling breast cancer. The last few years have been nothing short of outstanding, even including Harrington’s four shot win last year. That may seem like a huge margin on the surface, but the tournament was quite intriguing with Greg Norman making a bid for his third major championship. Who will surprise at the 2009 British Open? Here’s the TV schedule for you to see for yourself.

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What this week means for the Rangers

What a difference a week makes. Last Monday the Texas Rangers looked to be headed for a tailspin, having just lost two of three at home to the woeful San Diego Padres. Especially humiliating was the one-hit performance thrown out there by the offense on a Sunday night against Chad Gaudin.

But a controversial call-up of Julio Borbon seemed to spark the Rangers, as David Murphy and Marlon Byrd have both been red hot since the call up, along with some nice games from Hank Blalock and Nelson Cruz. Ian Kinsler is now stuck in an 0-for-21 stretch, the longest at-bat hitless streak of his career, and Chris Davis has been sent down to Oklahoma City, but Josh Hamilton returns from the disabled list tonight in order to try and recapture the form that made him a star in 2008.

This week, again, might be one of the most crucial of the Rangers’ season. Three games in Anaheim coupled with four in Seattle means the Rangers need to continue to be on their ‘A’ game in order to stay near the top of the AL West.

First – the Angels series.

Kevin Millwood and Dustin Nippert are slated to start the first two games of the series for the Rangers; Nippert will be coming off the disabled list (probably replacing Borbon) to make his first start of the season in place of enigmatic right-hander Vicente Padilla. Wednesday’s starter is tentatively going to be Tommy Hunter, but if Padilla feels up to it, it could be the Nicaraguan Nightmare starting on Wednesday.

The Angels counter with Jered Weaver, John Lackey and Ervin Santana. To me, Weaver is the scariest pitcher of the three, despite their career numbers. Weaver has much better stats at home, including ERA (under 2.00 in Anaheim) and K’s (10 more at home) and BB’s (11 fewer at home). The Rangers have always hit Lackey well (career ERA against the Rangers of over 5) and Santana has struggled at times this year.

I believe that with the way the Rangers are playing, they can take two of three in this series despite an Angels team that has been great since Memorial Day.

Next – the M’s.

How the Mariners have hung around in this race is really beyond me. They are getting excellent pitching performances from everyone on their staff. It’s not surprising that Felix Hernandez is what he is, but the fact that Garrett Olson, Brandon Morrow and Jason Vargas have stellar ERAs just doesn’t make sense. Jarrod Washburn is also having an above-average season. Vargas will be sent out of the rotation with the return of Erik Bedard tomorrow, and it looks like the Rangers will miss Felix Hernandez, as he is slated to pitch Wednesday against Baltimore.

A deeper look at some M’s numbers:

Garrett Olson: 5.07 K/9, 2.95 BB/9, 1.96 HR/9, .234 BABIP, 5.89 FIP, but a 3-2 record and 4.58 ERA.

Conclusion: Olson is still pretty bad but has gotten pretty good luck this year. Although the Mariners’ defense is vastly improved (which has something to do with Olson’s ERA), Olson should regress over the rest of the year.

Jarrod Washburn: 6.17 K/9, 2.43 BB/9, 1.03 HR/9, .275 BABIP, 4.05 FIP.

Conclusion: Washburn is enjoying a very nice season. His BABIP could regress some, but he is walking fewer batters and striking out more batters than last year. However, it warrants mentioning that he only has four full seasons with an ERA under 4.00 in this, his 12th season in the big leagues. So it’s hard to tell what will happen with him.

Bedard and Morrow really haven’t started enough games (especially Morrow) to develop too many significant trends, although Bedard is always a pretty tough lefty (the Rangers did beat the M’s in one of his starts earlier this year).

The bats are going to need to stay hot if the Rangers are going to have a winning record on this road trip, which is what they’ll need to stay within a game or two of the Angels.

If the Rangers get through this trip without losing a series, though, it should prove to the baseball world that Texas will be in this race for the long haul.

Party at the Arch: 2009 MLB All-Star Game Schedule and Tickets

While the Rangers try and break out of their offensive funk, we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the schedule for the Midsummer Classic – the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. The Rangers have had quite a presence in the game since the infamous tie in 2002, with four games being prominently affected by Ranger exploits.

Check after the jump for the 2009 MLB All-Star Game schedule and tickets.

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Ready For Some Football? Dallas Cowboys 2009 Preseason Schedule and Tickets

There seems to be a different vibe surrounding the Dallas Cowboys in 2009, most of which comes from the brand new Cowboys Stadium, set to open up this fall. The first chance for Cowboys fans to see their team in their new home comes August 21, when the ‘Boys host the Tennessee Titans, but the Dallas Cowboys 2009 preseason schedule opens up August 14 in Oakland against the Raiders.

Here’s a look at the entire Dallas Cowboys 2009 preseason schedule.

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Preseason Schedule and Tickets

Date	Opponent	Time	TV	Cowboys Preseason Tickets
August 13	@Oakland	9 p.m.	CBS 11/KTVT	Buy Cowboys Preseason Tickets
August 21	v. Tennessee	7 p.m.	Fox 4 (National)	Buy Cowboys Preseason Tickets
August 29	v. San Francisco	7 p.m.	CBS 11/KTVT	Buy Cowboys Preseason Tickets
September 4	@Minnesota	7 p.m.	CBS 11/KTVT	Buy Cowboys Preseason Tickets

The seemingly yearly journey to Mount Davis kicks off the first of four contests Romo, Wade and the gang will use to gauge their talents for the upcoming campaign. FOX picks up the national broadcast of the Titans game in order to show off the new digs, and a couple of common preseason foes in San Francisco and Minnesota wrap up what has already been an interesting offseason.

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Texas Rangers Schedule 2009 | June

Texas Rangers

The Rangers continued their winning ways in May, posting a 20 and 9 record and holding on to the number 1 spot in the AL West. The Texas Rangers will face the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Dodgers in June. This stiffer competition will be a good month to use as a barometer for how good this team actually is. To begin June the Rangers will go on the road to play the Yankees and then the Red Sox. Josh Hamilton had an MRI Monday 6/1, and the Texas Rangers are waiting to see the results. Hopefully Hamilton does not end up on the DL for the second time this season.

AL West Standings (last updated 7/2/2009 @ 8:27AM CDT)

• 1.) Los Angeles Angels
• 2.) Texas Rangers – 0.5 games back
• 3.) Seattle Mariners – 3.0 games back
• 4.) Oakland Athletics – 9.5 games back

Texas Rangers TV Schedule and Tickets

Most of the Rangers games will be on Fox Sports Southwest, although some are on My27 and KDFI. If you are interested in going to one of the games in June click on the Buy Tickets Link next to the matchup.

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