A 52 Point Game, As The Mavs...

...Choke in overtime. Andre Miller just flat went off on the Mavs'. In his previous 863 NBA games he had a career high of only 37. Tonight, he had 52. Maybe he woke up and ate the right kind of cereal this morning but for whatever reason he was unstoppable. He couldn't be guarded and he couldn't miss a shot...even when he tried. It was just one of those nights. "

We've gotten very soft defensively as a team," Carlisle said. "We were a tough-minded team the first quarter of the year, and that's gone by the wayside."

Apparently Mavs' Coach Rick Carlisle doesn't think his players are giving him all the effort in their tank night in and night out! And quite frankly I don't either. This is a team that we have seen successfully dominate some of the best teams in the league this season...and then forget to show up at all to the next game! It just does not make much sense. They have every thing they need to be successful in the regular season. I believe they need one more piece to make them a true contender to beat the Lakers. But that doesn't excuse them letting LA walk all over them, or letting Chris Bosh or Deron Williams push them around; and it really doesn't sit well with me when they allow teams like Philly and injury ridden Portland to pickpocket W's from them late in games! Not to mention should be wins over Phoenix, the Warriors six man team, and the Duncan-less/Parker-less Spurs. Some of these losses are disgraceful and demoralizing. Too many 1 point wins and close calls, too many nail bitters and barely squeaking by. When will this team figure out how to put their opponents away in the 3rd/4th quarter? 

"It's an attitude adjustment that we're going to have to make to get that (tough mindedness) back." Carlisle said. 

Yes coach it is an attitude adjustment. It is a demeanor and a mental desire that the Mavs' must find in order to do away with opposing teams. These 13 point leads that disappear are killing them. Too often they let teams back into games that they should win going away. The biggest problem of all is, they are doing it at home!

Dallas' home record is 14-8

Dallas' road record is 16-9


Notice anything unusual about that? Their road record is better than their home record. If they could win at home like they have in the past this team would be tied with the Lakers for the best team in the league! When they go out and dominate the Celtics in Boston, and dominate the Lakers in LA, and dominate the Spurs in SA, then come home and lose very winnable games, that says to me that this Mavericks team, for the first time since Mark Cuban bought the franchise, is uncomfortable playing at home! I do not believe that they could be comfortable and play so swagger-less on their home floor. The Mavs' started by losing the first game of the season against a Washington Wizards team that is now one of the worst teams in the league. How do you gain confidence when you lose the season opener at home to a team that is vastly inferior to you?


Here are the Mavs' home losses thus far:


Washington: 102-91
Golden State: 111-103 (GS had only 6 players on their entire team for that game, 4 of which played all 48 minutes. = BAD LOSS, as Dirk said)
Atlanta: 80-75
Houston: 116-108OT (Excusable loss. Very bad officiating and Dirk got teeth embedded in his arm.)
Portland: 85-81
Utah: 111-93
Los Angeles: 100-95
Portland: 114-112OT


A couple things jump out at me from that list. Check out how close these games are with the exception of Utah's 16 point thrashing. That looks to me like 7 very winnable games, two even went to overtime...and holding the very good Atlanta Hawks to 80 and not winning takes quite the effort. Even if you give Houston that terribly officiated game that is still six games that should be in the win column and they are not! Portland has the magic number and LA needed a(nother) Kobe miracle.


So what is the Mavericks problem with playing at home? Not only have they lost these games at home but also won some very unnecessarily close ones at home as a result of playing terrible.10 of their 14 home wins have been by 5 points or less and 5 of those by 2 points or less...Is it dramatic? YES...too much so! Its also disheartening for fans and it has to be for the team too when they play so uninspired on their home floor. So why can they not fix this lackadaisical attitude at home? Well it starts at the heart of the team...and just where is that exactly? That is the question...

Here's A Funny Joke..."The Pro Bowl"...!

Is there anything more degrading to a player than to be shuffled into an All-Star game at the last minute because whoever was better (or more well liked) was unable to play? Its like picking teams on the playground and then one of the best players hear's his mom calling him home leaving his team to pick from the undesirables that didn't make the first cut! This seems to be the situation that has developed the last couple of weeks concerning the NFL's attempt to field and showcase the best of the best.

The fact is...they are not going to have the best players on the field at all! So far 33 players have dropped out from the game or are unable to participate due to playing in the Super Bowl. (I hope I don't get sued for using the term "super bowl"...I guess I shouldn't say "who dat" either...) By the way, not only is the game being played before the super bo...uh I mean, big game, but its also being played in Miami as opposed to its usual home in Hawaii. I'm not sure I understand the logic here, or there...or anywhere for that matter! Why is the NFL playing any games in Europe? Why can a professional football player not spike the ball when he scores a TD. Where's the fun in that? Do you think they'll flag em for excessive celebration at the Pro Bowl? Hmm..anyways, here are the major players who wont be attending this weekends NFC vs. AFC showdown:

Peyton Manning...not only will he not participate, but he along with the other six Indianapolis Colts players selected to the Pro Bowl will be leaving the game at halftime to fly back to Indiana. The only reason any of them will be there is because the league will not pay the players their bonus checks if they do not show up to the game. (BTW, there is actually an incentive to compete in this game. The winners get a bigger check than the losers: $45,000 for a W and $22,500 for a L.) I'm sure Manning has his mind focused on other things, but for the few who watch the Pro Bowl wouldn't they like to see the best QB in the league play the game?

Others missing the game: Drew Brees...the second best QB in the league along with six of his teammates from who dat nation who wont be playing. Plus: Dallas Clark, Reggie Wayne, and Dwight Freeney. Pretty big names to not be in the NFL All-Star game. Also only 1 of the 6 chosen QB's is still going to play! The top three original QB's in the AFC were Manning, Tom Brady, and Philip Rivers...NONE of them will be playing this weekend. They have been replaced by Matt Schaub, Vince Young, and David Garrard. The B-team! In the NFC only Aaron Rodgers is an original pick as Brees and Favre have been replaced by Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb (don't throw up man, I know this is a big game!).

So it seems this years NFL "All-Star" game is more like just a game full of the guys that were left standing by the fence in the school yard. Hardly the group that should be there, yet some made it in by accident and they should have been there all along! (Frank Gore ((cough cough))) Without a doubt this is the biggest disaster in Pro Bowl history, the first time since 1980 the game will not be in Hawaii, and most of the best players either refused to play due to "injury" (HA) or are in the Super Bowl. So to me this year will be a bust; while I may tune in just to see how the replacements fair, or to see if Chad Ochocinco busts a Billy "white shoes" Johnson on us...and gets flagged for it. Now that I may wanna see!

Favre Giveth, and Favre Taketh Away!

The Super Bowl is set. There are only two teams left in the NFL and neither of those include the name Brett Favre on their rosters. Is this a good thing or bad thing? Well considering how disappointing it will be for everyone this off-season while we will be forced to wait and wonder if Favre will play next season or finally hang up his guns for good...I'd say its a bad thing, regardless of who you were rooting for! At least if the Vikes had won the whole deal we'd know for sure that he'd retire and go out on top...but alas, it wasn't mean to be, that easy on us.

The thing that makes Brett Favre so great, the thing we love about him so much, is also the same thing that makes him a failure and makes us hate him so much! He is the definition of a gunslinger quarterback! Favre can win games by doing what he does best and he can definitely lose games doing the same thing. All season long we watched a 40 year old man chunk a football down the field and get lucky 98% of the time. Early on in the season it seemed he couldn't make a mistake...everyone just kept waiting for the true Brett Favre to rear its ugly head. And it never did. He threw 33 TD's and 7 interceptions all season long, his best season ever. He threw 13 picks a few times in his career...but seven is a phenomenal number, plus he posted a career high in completion % at 68.4%. And including the playoffs he threw 39 TD's and 9 picks. Favre did not make the mistakes we became accustomed to seeing him make in the regular season...and played a nearly flawless game against the Cowboys (unfortunately). But, some of us just knew...somehow, someway, that he would goof...whether it was against the saints or in the Super Bowl...it just had to happen! And it did!

One of those 9 interceptions made its way into history by being the last pass Brett Favre threw this season. That means the last three seasons he has ended by throwing major picks in big games...two in the conference championship games! Favre is almost like watching a really tense mystery thriller, every time he throws the ball you hold your breath until its caught. Knowing the situation in Sundays game, I definitely held my breath on that last throw and like a good thriller...it didn't disappoint. The interception was made and I found myself feeling a little bit sorry for Favre. While this season and last I have slowly but surely lost all the respect I'd had for the man...but in this moment...this one defining moment that he so epically failed at I couldn't help but remember how I rooted for him back in '96. And how truly great a career he's had. So in a moment of reflection I felt he deserved credit...credit for taking the Vikings where Tarvaris Jackson would never and will never take them. Credit for having the best year of his great career and doing all of this while being 40 years old. Congratulations to Brett on a great season!

Then I got over that and remembered why I'd learned to loath him and have been praying ever since that he'd swallow his pride and retire...even though I truly believe he will come back to the Vikings to finish the job he started. I know in my heart that he won't (can't) swallow pride and the fact that his last pass in the NFL was game losing interception will not sit well with him. But hopefully he can do this off season thing the right way this time and instead of waiting till the week before the regular season, how bout telling us his decision before the NFL draft...that way if he's not coming back the Vikings can draft anyone to replace Jackson. And in the event he does return, this is my hope...I hope he gets them back to the playoffs...I hope he has as good a season or better than he did this year...and I hope with all my heart that he'll lose the NFC championship game to the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas and retire with that taste in his mouth!

Dirk is not? an All Star Starter...?

Travesty? Definitely! Dirk Nowitzki was not on the list of All Star starters when they were announced this evening. My only question is HOW? How in the world did the best power forward in the Western Conference and arguably the league not get a starting spot on the All Star team?

Answer...fan voting! Allowing the "fans" to vote players into the All Star game by texting and the internet ballot is the worst voting system EVER! It has been nothing short of PROOF that the majority of the people that are voting do not know who they are voting for or why. I'm angry for several reasons other than the fact that Dirk was snubbed (again) and demoted to coming off the bench in the All Star game. Even when the man won the league MVP he came off the bench at the All Star game. Unbelievable.

Dirk has proven over his career that he deserves to be not just a guy that comes off the bench at the All Star game but part of the main show! The big introduction and the works! Nine straight All Star appearances and no starts? I understand early on Kevin Garnett was dominant and Duncan was winning championships...but now? KG is in the East and Duncan is hobbling around on an underachieving team. The Mavs are the second best team in the Western Conference and a top 5 team in the league. Not to mention that the flippin All Star game is IN DALLAS this year!

Duncan was down by 50,000 votes going into the last two weeks of voting...he won by 63,000 votes. What happened there? That is a 113,000 vote swing in two weeks...? Why I'll never understand, but how...spurs fans stuffed the ballots and made extra attempts to vote for him than normal. And I think a lot of people who don't know the game and don't know all the players vote for the names they've heard before and Duncan's name did come before Dirks on the ballot. I don't really know...I'm so perplexed by this and confused at how this happened...its just sickening!

I have 4 major complaints about this years All Star game (and maybe a few minor ones):

1) The "fans" were allowed to vote for Tracy McGrady. T Mac is washed up...and has been a perennial injury for the later half of the decade! He has played a total...TOTAL of 45 minutes the entire season...and not just due to injury. The Rockets just don't want him on the floor, and he doesn't want to play for em! Thats a terrible situation for him because he used to be really good...then its just like he fell off the edge of the world and died...who cares about T Mac...apparently the Chinese (who are communists and can't even watch all the NBA games and don't even know who is what in the NBA other than Yao and his teammates, aka: McGrady). For a guy who has only played 45 minutes in half a season worth of games is morally wrong. There are guys out there working their butts off every night and playing quite well who are way more deserving of votes! Monta Ellis for example, has played something like 23 games where he has played over 45 minutes just in one game and several, including one in which the Warriors beat the Mavs, where he has played all 48 minutes! And he's done so while averaging nearly 27 points per game. ???? What the HECK! Why is Tracy McGrady even being discussed? Luckily he did not make it as a starter...Steve Nash (deservingly so) picked up the starting honor...although it pains me to say that T Mac will still be playing as an All Star reserve...what a shame!

2) Second thing. AI...does not stand for artificial intelligence...stands for Allen Iverson...who honestly, I'm quite ashamed to admit it but I was a huge fan of his early in his career. AI who has been a nightmare drama queen the last few years as he's bounced around from mediocre team to bad team to mediocre team and through it all probably hasn't practiced any but still has a job in the NBA making money most of us wish we made and doing a lot less to get it. To begin the season he was coming off the bench for the Memphis Grizzlies... against his will. So like a child without the best crayon box...he boo hooed and whined and then he left. Philly picked him up and gave him what he wanted...a starting job. O well...but through all of this he has only played 19 games out of about 41 or so that he could have possibly played in. But alas, he is starting in the All Star game for the East. This for me is an outrage. What about Joe Johnson? Rajon Rondo? Derrick Rose? Ray Allen? At least those four have played all year and have put up career numbers and with the exception of Derrick Rose's Bulls their teams are having great seasons! I understand Dwayne Wade, but AI...come on...really?

3) Position changes...? This problem has been going on for years...its disgruntled me in the past because players (Ahem...Tim Duncan) have used this loophole if you will, to weasel their way into the starting spot in the All Star game. What certain players are allowed to do is change their position solely for the All Star game. This allows players like Tim Duncan or Amare Stoudemire to switch from their conventional positions so that they may play the All Star game as a starter at a certain position. Both Duncan and Stoudemire are more Centers than PF but both play more PF for their respective teams. I do not believe that it is fair or ok for players to switch from year to year as Duncan has in the past to ensure him a starting spot. When Duncan was listed as a Center in 07' the spurs lobbied for him to be moved to the Power Forward spot so that Duncan would not have to back up Yao Ming. (pretty sure Dirk won a league MVP that year...huh, no matter) This issue also begs a question pertaining to this year...why was Pau Gasol able to slide into the All Star game starting squad as a Center this year...? Not only was he on the ballot as a PF but hasn't he pretty much been a PF for the Lakers while Bynum and Lamar O play the middle man? Chris Kaman is the leagues leader in scoring for the Center positions this season...and he did not even make the ballot to begin with. The guy puts up 20 a game and he's not even on the ballot? Yet the guy who had the second most votes for center in the Western Conference, Andrew Bynum, wont be going to the All Star game at all...why? Pau Gasol gets to play center...WOW! Ok not only am I confusing myself about this I'm pretty sure I've ranted long enough to lose the one reader I had...you get the point!

4) Dirk Nowitzki IS better than Tim Duncan. Thats a fact! Here are the numbers:

                           Dirk                                              Duncan
09-10:         ppg: 26     rpg: 8                             ppg: 20    rpg: 10
Career:       ppg: 23    rpg: 9                             ppg: 21    rpg: 12
Playoffs:    ppg: 26      rpg: 11                           ppg: 23    rpg: 13

The thing about the career numbers for Dirk is he was a 18 year old kid from Germany and his first season was the lockout year where he only played like 47 games and averaged only 8 points per. the next season he bumped it up to 18 a game. but if you take out even just the first God awful year he's a 24ppg guy! duncan went to Wake Forest for four years whereas Dirk came straight from a German junior league to the NBA. Check out the playoff numbers...Dirk elevates his game tremendously, not that Duncan doesn't I mean the rings count for something and I'm not forgetting that the championship count is Duncan 4 Nowitzki 0.

The thing that just gets me is that Dirk is just so incredible coming from where he's come from and being able to accomplish what he has accomplished is truly remarkable. Duncan has never been on a bad team. He has never endured a team that didn't have other play makers at least if not Hall of Famers. Nowitzki has. When he and Nash first came to Dallas...the Mavs where disgusting! After Nash and Finley left...Dirk had Jason Terry running the point for 3 or 4 years. And he still took them 2 wins away from a championship. Duncan has always had teammates to pick up the slack when he was struggling, he has always been a part of a well organized manufacturer of championships in San Antonio...Dirk has had to literally put his entire team on his back and will them to win at times. The most I've ever heard him complain is this season while he's got probably the best team Dallas has ever put together, he said at times he feels like he has to make every shot down the stretch to pull out a win...wow...he shouldn't feel like that with the players he's got around him. But the fact is down the stretch he has made those shots...29 point 4th quarters coming from behind to win the game are testament to that!

Dirk's Dallas Mavericks sit as the number 2 seed in the Western Conference, the Spurs are considered underachievers this year...they are a few games back of Dallas and thats what counts. Dirks team is just flat out better having beat the Spurs 2 out of 3 this season so far. So with that thought on my mind I shall finish by saying this: Dirk is having an MVP year, he will be a part of the MVP voting when it takes place...so I say let Duncan get his precious start, I mean if he's got to "Al Gore" himself into a starters spot in the All Star game...fine, let him have it! But Dirk is on a better team with a better shot at winning and Dirk will have a chance at the MVP this year...because Dirk Nowitzki is a better basketball player than Tim Duncan!

Book of Eli...A Statement...?

Time and time again Hollywood finds a way to make films that shove liberal and secular politics down the throat of the American people. We are continually made to watch movies with no moral direction and no disguise for the sleazy content that has been made acceptable by their standards. I find it repulsive to have to hear young girls wanting to listen to the music from RENT and dancing like they do in Chicago! Not only has the moral principle been thrown out the window, but the Hollywood love affair with immorality has been jammed down our throats over and over again. The invention of the parental rating system was to ensure that young children did not have to bear witness to the wonderful world of the dirty adult mind! ...apparently someone forgot that along the way and this is why we have 6 and 7 year old kids running around insulting people on a high school level. 


Anyway, the point that I've been trying to get to is that "The Book of Eli" is an aberration! Not that there are no swear words or graphic content in this movie, but the focal point of the entire plot is religion and morality! Our hero struggles with killing people. He lives his life by a moral standard that has quite frankly been forgotten in America. He not only prays before he eats...he also remembers to read his bible everyday! There are so few of us, not I and not anyone I know other than my own mother literally do those things. 


Eli mixes the action with the important statement it makes very well. I had high yet very shaky hopes for this movie and quite honestly I was blown away! I did not expect it to hit home so hard and make the impact that it made. It is very hard to watch a movie objectively but I tried very hard to do so with this one and try to nit pick the things that I could, the problem was, this one was just very well put together and it didn't come close to disappointing me. In fact I couldn't find anything to really point to and say that this is where they messed it up! The message is clear and it was not one of those "we're gonna show you the outline and then let you draw your own conclusions...blah blah blah"! We've seen all those before...this one was different. The Book of Eli really and truly drove the message home and hit the audience quite frankly between the eyes! 


Not to mention that Denzel Washington turns in a brilliant performance as usual. He dominates every second he is on the screen, he demands your attention and creates a character worth identifying with and caring for and even loving. Denzel is the hero of this flick, not just because of the way he wields his sword but because of the way he conducts himself in a respectful and caring manor. Throughout the film his character is given the opportunity to slip up and let down his guard and lose that moral compass which keeps him so centered the entire movie. Yet, he refuses to let his human nature get the best of him. He truly conducts himself in a way a good man of the Word would. 

This movie makes a statement and it makes it loud and clear and effectively! Unlike any movie I have ever seen this one takes a definitive moral stand against the Hollywood grain and finds its own ground to stand on. Some movies have come close, but this one truly hit the mark and went all the way. This was good vs. evil and you never doubted who you were rooting for. The hero "Eli" was the good guy no doubt in anyones mind. A lot of times Hollywood frowns on movies that give favorable thought to religion and morals. Just ask The Boondock Saints about that...they've had two movies now that have been ravaged and torn to shreds by the Peter Travers of the world. Travers said this of Eli "The Book of Eli isn't as exciting or funny or inspiring as it wants to be, and its preachy ending is an ordeal." 

Um Excuse me but "its preachy ending is an ordeal"? what's the ordeal? You see, these guys are so upset and flustered that the Bible (because its a Christian book) is looked upon in such a positive light...in fact I believe it sickens them to their core to actually think that Hollywood made a movie that stars the Bible as a good thing! 

Rotten Tomatoes gives Eli a rotten 46% while the users rated the movie 83% fresh! Its the same thing as The Boondock Saints movies: the first, only 16% RT rating...while 1369 people gave it a fresh rating for a total of 83% user rating! wow...the second movie, the critics gave it a 13% rating while the people gave it an 80% rating! 

It is unbelievable the kind of content that people outside of Hollywood actually enjoy. Movies that deal with religion respectfully are almost always well liked by the public...and hated by the critics. The fact that Denzel Washington was behind this movie is the main reason it has worked out at the box office. I guarantee you that The Book of Eli finds massive support from the underground following just as The Boondock Saints movies have. Maybe not as big...but people will buy this when it is released and people will show it to their friends and people will like it...no matter what the critics and the people who "know better than us" say, word of mouth will make this movie better than they want it to be because thats exactly what it is...better than Hollywood wanted it to be!

Defense in Dallas?

Mavs Defense: Tonight the Dallas Mavericks played defense...to win a game! The Nations Capital is where the Mavs played one of the finest defensive games I think I've ever seen them play. 


They recorded 9 blocks, and 9 steals. Thats 18 bad possessions forced by the Mavericks who only turned the ball over themselves 11 times. One of those nine blocks could be considered a game preserver I guess? Shawn Marion blocked Caron Butler's last second shot attempt which, had it been allowed to go in would have won the game for the Wizards. Shawn Marion is by far Dallas' best defender. Especially in one on one situations. That is why he has been such an important part of what the Mavs are trying to accomplish this season. It is something that Rick Carlisle has preached vigorously as the one thing that WILL win games. He put it this way the other day, "offense comes and goes and the shots will go down eventually, but defense is something that you can take with you." Good thing the airline found their defensive baggage before the Boston game the other night, the first game of this five game trip was in Toronto and the Mavs were clearly without any D whatsoever; maybe the Canadian border patrol confiscated it...anyway...We all know the Mavs can score. They've been doing that since Dirk and Nash were running circles around opposing teams and averaging 110 points a game. Even the squad that made the finals outscored everyone to death. But seriously...when was the last time that the Dallas Mavericks beat another team by blocking the final shot? Typically when the opposing star has the rock and begins to chunk up a prayer we look up and see no one in a Dallas uniform within spitting distance and figure our only chance of winning is fate. Well...thats just not good enough, and it never has been...clearly!


The Mavs under Rick Carlisle are undefeated in 1 point games and have won their last 9 straight 1 point games. It used to be a certainty that when the Mavs scored 85 points or so that they were going to lose for sure...not anymore! The Mavericks are 7-1 in games decided by 3 points or less. And while typically teams fall behind in the first half struggle to recover in the second half, the Mavs have won more games this season than any other team in the league when trailing after halftime. That means that Dallas has found a way to get stops on the defensive end when they needed them. And their league best 11 wins when trailing after halftime is a testament to a defensive intensity that the Dallas Mavericks have never had before. The Mavs have made it clear this season that at times they are willing to squeeze you defensively and get a lot of stops. Early on in the season they were holding teams like Houston to scoring droughts that lasted up to ten minutes. The problem this year though, hasn't been the defense, it has been the offense. 


Mavs Offense: I would like to make it clear however that Dirk Nowitzki is not part of that problem. Dirk is averaging his usual 26 points a game or so. The problem area has been little to no offensive production from Jason Terry and Josh Howard. Shawn Marion has stepped up of late and even Drew Gooden and Damp have helped out offensively. The thing that will put the Mavs over the top, the one thing that will make them able to compete with the Lakers in the post season will be the defensive intensity we've seen lately, along with Josh Howard scoring the basketball, (taking 30 shots a game to get to 15 points doesn't count). And Terry has to get back to being...Terry.


If the Mavericks do take their defense into the post season and make some noise this could be the best defense we've seen played in Dallas since the last Doomsday D the Cowboys had...or possibly the Stars when they won the cup...that defense was extremely stout! 

First Post Ever: Darn Them Cowboys!

So this is my first ever attempt at "blogging" and I'm not sure how the standard or typical "blogger" does this; so I'm just going to do it my way and see how it goes. I hope you enjoy. 

The Dallas Cowboys. As the world knows by now, the boys lost on Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings 34-3. Not really a contest, much less an NFL playoff game. (although, only one of the divisional round games was actually competitive) But the Cowboys game I felt should have been good. The boys however, just did not show up. The first few drives seemed so promising that I was confident even after the second turnover. What happened next was quite heartbreaking actually for a true fan to watch. The entire Cowboy team, including the coaches and both sides of the ball, were put under enormous pressure and adversity...the heartbreaking thing was not necessarily that they couldn't find a way to win; but that the entire team, coaches and all, could not find anyone to rally around. Not one person within that organization knew who to look to in their time of need. When the adversity hit it was almost visible that the team just did not have a leader and did not know who they were supposed to follow into battle. 


For example, when the colts face adversity, everyone from the owner right down to the most un-loyal of fans and even people who aren't fans and are just astute observers of the football world, everyone knows that Peyton Manning is going to put that team on his back and carry them through whatever trying times his team is facing. Even when they don't win...they still have a leader, someone to trust and to look up to...fans and players alike.  


The Cowboys on the other hand...really just don't have that. And it was apparent by the way they laid down their weapons, tucked their tails between their legs, and whimpered their way out of Minnesota! The Cowboys (among other things) need their William Wallace. The Colts have theirs. And that is why win or lose, year in and year out, they are the best team in professional football. And why the Cowboys continually, year in and year out, break our hearts and leave us with nothing to believe in. No confidence, no direction, and no leadership!


I found it inspiring to some degree after the game when Tony Romo made all of Dallas feel SO much better when he told us that (paraphrasing here) "this is a good learning experience and I think that we can improve going forward". Uh...excuse me? Thats reassuring. Thanks for finally turning your hat forward just to make the Bible belt feel better and o by the way, thanks for taking responsibility for screwing up ever chance you got! I mean is that too much to ask? For someone, whether its Romo, Wade, Garret, Ware, or Keith Brooking for crying out loud, to take responsibility for losing and to reassure players and fans alike that everything is going to be ok? Someone needed to emerge as the undisputed leader of that football team and for a minute or two we all thought it would be Brooking...turns out he's all pre-game fire and much less in-game leader! 


Here's a definite! Wade will never be THAT leader. Thats a fact. It will never happen. If Jerry Jones gives him the extension they are discussing and Wade is the "coach" for the next ten years...he will never be the leader we as fans want and deserve! And no...replacing Wade with Garret will not fix anything. Garret is more of a weasel than Dave Campo was...yet then again, Campo is still coaching something.


Now for a minute or two I thought and even hoped a little bit that Tony Romo would become that leader. But alas, he hasn't developed that trait! A trait that I feel is just as important for a QB to have as his ability to throw a football. I desperately wanted him to come out after the game and let the fans know that HE would take responsibility for the loss, and that HE would put this team on his back, and that "going forward" this team will make the next step! The cowboys struggle with adversity because when the going gets rough...who do they have to rally around? Who is the one guy that the entire team can look to and be reassured that HE will get them through whatever adversity they face? And it goes farther than just the team and players...its the fans as well. Who reassures us that things are going to be ok? Nobody does...not on this Cowboys team. Not even Jerry Jones (even though he tries). 


So as fans...who do we look to for guidance and reassurance during the longest off-season in sports? Anyone...anyone? I have little doubt that the boys will be back looking almost the same next year. Wade at the helm (sort of) and Garret navigating...(sort of) and Jerry Jones will be there also telling us that he thinks Wade is our guy and this season is gonna be even better than the last. Yay! I'm so excited...NOT!