Out With A Bang
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Note to my friends: If and when I kick the bucket, please pattern my final sendoff after the wacky farewell for author Hunter S. Thompson. The one difference would be that, rather than firing my ashes from a cannon, I just want you to stick my corpse in there. Plus, dress me in an Evel Knievel outfit and fire my body into the Grand Canyon.

Now that would be awesome...

So What Is The Story?
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Let me get this straight: Rafael Palmeiro says he did not intentionally use steroids and will explain to all of us eventually what exactly happened. Now we're learning that when he had the chance to plead his case to baseball several months ago, he wouldn't even tell them the whole story!

You know what the real reason for Raffy's delay in telling 'his side'? He still hasn't come up with his side yet. I'm sure Raffy has his agent scouring the medical books and talking to doctors trying to find a case where performance-enhancing drugs got into a person's system without their knowledge. If you believe that, then you probably also believe that OJ is innocent also.

I can't wait to hear what Raffy finally decides is the truth...

Rangers Win! Rangers Win!

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After 8 straight losses, the reeling Rangers finally get back in the win column Wednesday night. Ironically, it was a great pitching performance by rookie Chris Young that helped secure the victory. I'm sure it's late-season efforts like this one that will have Tom Hicks telling us once again why the Rangers are going to continue to depend on the young arms in their system and not go after any high-priced pitchers in free agency during the offseason.

Oh well, nobody cares anyway now that the Cowboys are getting ready for the season...

ABC, ESPN To Televise Entire '06 World Cup
(full story)

Soccer dorks, like myself, are celebrating today after word that all 64 games of the 2006 World Cup will be televised. I will be one of the fools who wakes up at 5 in the morning (due to the time difference) to watch the US play live. That's good old fashioned fun right there...

And all you soccer haters can shut up before you even start. A 0-0 match can be pretty damn exciting...

Mike Now An Ex-Mav
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Can you really blame Mark Cuban for waiving Michael Finley? It was an opportunity to avoid $51-million in luxury taxes...wouldn't any of us do that? Hell. I'd avoid 51-cents in taxes if I could.

Finley leaves the Mavs after 8½ seasons with an average of nearly 20-points per game. While his skills had been in decline over the last couple of years, we'll see if Dallas can find someone to fill the spot now left on their roster with Mike's departure. Sounds like Doug Christie will be the man who'll try...

Dirk Nowitski is now the only man left from the Mavs' "Big 3" of himself, Steve Nash and Finley. How will Dirk respond with more pressure to be the team's unquestioned leader?

Cards 13, Cowboys 11
(game story)

Not really surprised at the outcome of Saturday's exhibition opener for the Cowboys. Hey, at least they put 11 points on the board this time around (the last 2 preseason openers under Big Bill had been shutouts). Some observations:

*Quarterbacks - Still reserving judgement on Drew Bledsoe. He looked pretty ugly in his short time on the field (4-8, 27 yds), but again it's still very early. Tony Romo looked pretty good...and Drew Henson looked like Drew Henson.

*Penalties - 12 for 91 yards...just ugly. The worst of the bunch happened on a drive early in the 3rd quarter. Romo had driven Dallas to the Arizona 15. But 7 plays and 3 penalties later, the Cowboys found themselves with a 3rd and 50! Yeech...

*3-4 Defense - Still a work in progress. Arizona played without 4 of its starters on offense, so it's a little hard to give an accurate assessment.

*Offensive Lineman Torrin Tucker- Will be looking for employment shortly. He and Jacob Rogers are making it a 2-man race for the award for "Worst Player in Camp." Just another reason to worry about the offensive output this season when you've got a bunch of creampuffs blocking for you.

Now it's back to lovely Oxnard, where the Cowboys get ready for preseason game #2 versus Seattle next Monday night. Between now and then, the Tremendous Tuna definitely has some tweaking to do.