Tailgate Talk

Is a three-peat in the making? The Rangers have finally secured Yu
Darvish for when Pitchers and Catchers report on February 19th. With
Darvish, the pitching rotation is shaping up to look like: Colby
Lewis, Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, and
Alexi Ogando. All 6 of them give me the confidence that we can make it to the
Series once again for 2012. Hopefully, Mike Napoli will rebound from
his hurt ankle and get to know the little quirks of Darvish so they
can communicate in sync at the plate.

Good thing Prince Fielder is getting ridiculously overpaid by the
Detroit Tigers, which all but assures Josh Hamilton will be resigned
for this upcoming year. Jon Daniels mentioned he wants Hamilton
locked-in for the long term. Hamilton should be looking to stay
healthy, as it seems his season’s always have injuries. Hopefully
Mike Napoli will rebound from his hurt ankle and get to know the
little quirks of Darvish so they can communicate in sync at the plate.

The extension of Ron Washington’s contract to 2014 is the cherry on
top of an excellent off-season for the Rangers’ staff. Can the
Rangers keep their momentum going and secure their third American
Pennant? It looks like we sure are off to a strong start.

LET’s GO Rangers!!!!!!

Tailgate Talk!

Well, if you read my last blog post, you would know that I predicted
the Cowboy's failure in December against the Giants. Ouch. Jerry Jones
will have to wait another year to see his team under-perform. With the
Giants and Saints winning in the NFC Wild Card Round and the Texans
and Broncos winning the AFC counterpart, we have some great playoff
football ahead.

After the Tebow magic we all witnessed on Sunday night, I don't see
the Broncos beating Tom Brady on his home turf. I pick the Pats in an
easy one. Now, the Texans and Ravens. I think the Texans' luck runs
out as well in a low, low scoring game against Flacco. I see the
Ravens winning a close one, 16-13. That would setup a Ravens-Patriots
match for the AFC title. With that being played at New England, I see
Tom Brady returning to another Super Bowl.

I see the Giants losing to Green Bay and the Saints squeaking by San
Francisco. I think the Saints are something special this year and
don't see the 49er's outlasting New Orleans. Eli Manning should start
strong against Rogers and the Packers, but I think the weather and
crowd will be a factor here, with the Packers winning by 10 points.
This would setup an epic match up between the Saints and Packers and I
think the Saints out-muscle Rogers to take the NFC Championship. I
know the Saints aren't great on the road, but I see them winning the
NFC Championship and ultimately, the Super Bowl.

Tailgate Talk

With the BCS Final Standings just released, the resulting matchups in the
Big 5 Bowls still make many college football fans wonder why the BCS
is still around. Orange Bowl? West Virginia vs. Clemson. Yawn. National
Championship? An already seen 'Bama vs. LSU. And the worst offender of
all, the Sugar Bowl? The #13 ranked Michigan vs. #11 Virginia Tech,
both which have 2 losses and are not ranked in the Top 10. That means
the Sugar Bowl skipped over Boise State, which was ranked #7, and
Kansas State, which was at #8. Kansas State would have come in droves
to New Orleans to watch Snyder’s excellent coaching this year. Boise
would have guaranteed a TV audience rooting for the non-AQ underdog.
Instead, it seems politics and money grubbing got in the way to setup
a yawn of a match that neither team really deserves.

The Rose Bowl stays traditional, as it always will, as Wisconsin tries
to win the Roses for the 2nd year in a row against Oregon. The Fiesta
Bowl actually ended up with a great #3 Oklahoma State vs. #4 Stanford.
But, we all know the Okie State Cowboys truly deserved a chance to
beat LSU for the National Title. If "Every Week Matters" as the BCS
often trumpets, then 'Bama already had it chance and lost in a
yawn-fest field goal battle into overtime. Why is that week
forgotten? Why do they get a redo? Because ESPN deemed so! The voters
don't actually watch the games and roll dice it seems to fill out
their ballots with wacky rankings that have no logic.

I think if we had simply matched the top 10 in order against one
another, the Bowls would all have excellent matchups. Take a look: #1
LSU v #2 'Bama (Imagine Oklahoma State here instead), #3 Oklahoma
State (switch for 'Bama) vs. #4 Stanford, #5 Oregon vs. #6 Arkansas, #7
Boise State vs. #8 Kansas State, and finally #9 South Carolina vs. #10
Wisconsin. Those are great matchups. True, the SEC gets 4 teams in,
but they would all be TV Ratings gold.

What changes would you make in Selecting the teams for the BCS Bowls?
My thought scrap the BCS altogether?
I want your comments so email me at: bigtex@tailgatingtime.com

Our Texas Rangers, can they do it again??


Ron Wash and his team has clinched the AL West for the 2nd year in a
row, but can they make it to the World Series just like last year?
It's still unclear on how their path is going to be this post-season,
which might put some strain in how Ron Washington wants to play his
cards up until the 1st ADLS game.

Rangers' hitting is absolutely exploding right now with Ian Kinsler
reaching the elusive 30 Home Run - 30 Steals club and as Beltre seems
to be scoring home runs at every at bat (12 in the last 15 games).

Pitching-wise, the Rangers are shaping up nicely to make a strong run
into the post-season.  Wilson will be a solid starter with Dutch
pitching second.  I think Harrison and Lewis could switch in the 3rd
game's spot. With the recent bullpen upgrades, I think we can rely on
our reliefs keeping the scores down in the late innings.  And
especially with the experience gained in the loss to the Giants in the
last World Series, I think we will have a very calm, prepared bullpen
to face the Yankees and whoever else makes the wild card spots.

Who do you think will be the biggest impact in the post-season? Is
there a no-hitter that may sneak up? Will Ron Wash act crazy as we
clinch title after title? And maybe most importantly...what will the
new t-shirts look like now that the claw and horns are old news?

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a great weekend of football!  A lot of great games ran down to
the wire and several of our local DFW teams secured some wins. It was
also a great weekend to put on a great tailgate! TCU and SMU both got
back to 1-1 with wins over Air Force and UTEP, respectively.
 
This weekend helped open the brand-spanking-new Apogee Field in Denton
for the UNT Mean Green.  It’s terrific that the University has
committed to helping build up its struggling football program.  That
north end zone is shaped like wings stretching out.  I bet some
dedicated students will being fussing over who gets to sit at the very
top seat at each wing’s point.  I also heard the tailgating scene for
the opening game at Apogee Field was a HUGE success and most likely
the biggest ever at UNT. Although, UNT lost to Houston, 48-23, it has
to be a proud moment for the Mean Green!
 
And then, the Dallas Cowboys laid another egg in a fourth quarter
meltdown that smelled exactly like last year’s opening loss to the
Washington Redskins.  The O-Line played decently, but Romo (who looks
like a genius 75% of the time) made some really bone-headed plays,
which gave the awful Jets just the momentum in the 4th to steal the
game away.

 

I want your comments so email me at:   bigtex@tailgatingtime.com

Dallas/Fort Worth: Sports Capital of the World?

Tailgating Season is here and of course, Football is nearly among us!  
I cannot be more excited that my Saturdays will be filled with college 
rivalries and then Sundays watching the newly unleashed NFL battle out.  
I hope that everyone has gotten their tailgating gear in order for some 
Cowboys Stadium cookouts in Arlington.


As the lockout ended only a few days ago, the Cowboys were in a mad
rush to start and finish their free agency business, signing draft
picks, and cutting a lot of the fat that gathered during Wade’s
underachieving reign as head coach.


Roy Williams? Buh-bye. I think it was a logical move and  a lot of people 
were itching for him to go. After he came to Dallas from the Detroit Lions,
I don’t think he ever got fully comfortable and constantly dropped passes and
had a very visible lack of concentration on the field.  Now, the pressure is on 
Dez to step his game up, who will become a great duo with Miles Austin. 
Leonard Davis? This one is more unfortunate, blame it on the Salary Cap;

 I thought his salary deal was too high dollar when it was
signed.  Colombo was cut too, but at least we won’t have to see him
break an ankle or twist a knee in Week 2-3 of the season.


I still question our Offensive Line, which seems to be a constant
issue in Dallas. It looks like rookie Tyron Davis from USC will be an
immediate contributor and can hold his own. Dallas needs him to earn
his 1st round pick.  If Kosier and Free stay healthy, the three
rookies on the O-line drafted this year will be able to back-up
appropriately which will keep pressure off of Romo.  Seems like the
Cowboys will be well equipped in case of any O-line injuries. Let’s
just hope that they don’t happen. Schedule-wise, it seems very 
manageable.  We will have a tough start with games at the Jets and 
Patriots, but the middle of the season will have visits by the Seahawks,
Bills, and Dolphins.  The end of the season is always a killer, since the 
NFL made an effort to make every game important, with the Eagles and 
Giants back-to-back. If Jason Garrett means business and can eliminate 
the drama that always seems to sneak into the locker room, this season 
looks promising.  The defense will be strong under the leadership of Rob
Ryan. Now, all we need is some great tailgating outside Cowboys Stadium

 to get the season started off right!

Give me some feedback and email me at:  mr.tailgate@tailgatingtime.com