Stars and Saves Forever!

There are some absolutes about sporting events in North Texas this time of year. If there's a lead in the 9th inning for the Rangers, Coco Cordero will find a way to make Billy Graham scream the Lord's name in vain. If the Dallas Stars have a one goal lead with two minutes left in regulation, Marty Turco will find a manner to be Mr. Red Hot Chili Pepper ('give it away...give it away...give it away now!). I am really getting tired of late game snafu's that leave a sour taste in my mouth!

Monday night I saw perhaps the best period of the Dallas Stars season when they scored four goals, three of them in a seven minute span after Marty Turco put the Stars in a 3-0 hole after one period. Period two saw Dallas attacking the boards, tossing out good feeds, taking shots, and being the aggressors.

When goal number three bounced off Jose Theodore's back I thought we were good to go. In 2003 I saw a playoff game that Dallas lost in OT. Marty allowed the tying shot with under a minute left and then again two minutes into overtime. 2004 the same thing in Game 4 4/14th. Monday night took five minutes of OT before Joe Sakic deflected the winner into the net. Talk about a solar plexus shot to the gut! Damn!

After Mike Modano hit his shot at 19:57 of period two, that was the loudest I had heard the AAC since 4/26/03. The Stars are in big trouble...I'm not feeling it.

Perhaps Coco's agent wants to see a 20 game winner for a reliever. Why not? When you can blow saves and your team bails you out in the last at bat, you are credited with a win! Five blown saves, an ERA at 12.50 and a 3-2 record. When the supposed closer has the most wins on your staff, that's trouble. BIG trouble.

May I suggest that until Cordero gets his mind and his ERA out of the Bobby Ayala-Octavio Dotel-Norm Charlton hellhole of defeat, we switch Joaquin Benoit or perhaps CJ Wilson to that ending? Another wasted performance for Vicente Padilla.

Just like Monday night for Kevin Millwood. Congrats to my boy Kevin Mench for having homered in five straight games, a Ranger first! It's gotta be the shoes! I foresee a commercial showing Kevin running out a catch and belting a homer while Spike Lee yells that phrase, made famous by a 1987 Michael Jordan promo...

That Edmonton Detroit series is getting down and dirty. Saw a great double overtime victory won by Edmonton 4-3. The Oilers found a way to detain men like Zetterberg, Lidstrom, and Chelios. Might we be seeing a couple of 1 and 2 seeds get knocked out early? That would be a surprise. In between channel clicking I also watched history made in Houston as the Astros outlasted Los Angeles in 14 innings 4-3. The game was 4:48 minutes long, the longest regular season game at Minute Maid.

Old timers may remember a 22 inning marathon between both teams on a June 3rd day in 1989. Houston finally won the game, I recall Fernando Valenzuela was playing second base at game's end, interesting in that he was a lefty. The bigger story that weekend was Tiananmen Square in Beijing...

Day Game! Thanks to Shelly for the kickass new Blue Jersey. Kevin Mench never looked so good. Mocha time. 72 was the high yesterday, twas 57 at last pitch. We'll be lucky to top 70 today. Thank you Colorado for the cold snap while you enjoy snow flurries.

Over and out in Big D

Mr Will