So many changes in our world of favorite teams since my last post, that I don't know where to start.

1. Tony Romo
2. Demarcus Ware
3. Josh Hamilton
4. Dirk
5. Coach O and Canada in Baton Rouge
6. Draft 
7. Dak 
8. Rangers Bullpen
9. Trout, Kershaw, Machado and Harper
10. Recruiting for next year.
11. Coach Wade at LSU 
12. Golf
13. NBA - Lebron, Durant, Davis, Leonard, Curry, Westbrook and Harden.
14. North Carolina and Roy Williams
15. Sports Illustrated lack of delivery of magazines.
16. Ohtani and Hunter Green both 6'4" and being tagged as a "Babe Ruth"

I will try to comment on your post and add a few thoughts. 

J

End of the Line for Josh Hamilton

With the Rangers releasing Josh Hamilton this week, his career is likely over and it got me going through his numbers again.  I've posted plenty about Josh in the past.  He should have been winding up a hall of fame career, the best player of this generation.  But instead he's likely done having played parts of 9 seasons, with less than 4,000 total at bats.  The greatest waste of talent we have seen.  But he leaves us with flashes that I'll always remember.

Of course the moments; 28 homers in the first round of the home run derby at Yankee Stadium in 2008, the 4-homer game in Baltimore in 2012, the should-have-been World Series winning 10th inning homer in 2011, the game in 2010 that left JJ Taylor searching for words in his DMN column.  But at the top of my list are the stretches of pure greatness that rival anything I've seen in 40 years of watching baseball.

Start with the summer of 2010.  This was the stretch where God let us see on full display talent on par with Mantle and Mays.  It was sort of unexpected.  He rolled into June with only fair numbers.  Then over 80 full games and 310 at bats from June - August, he hit .410 with 22 homers, a .720 slugging %, and an OPS over 1.1.  Plus he played center field, ran down anything, and threw bullets all over the field.  I'll always just be glad we saw the full extent of that talent, even for only 1 summer.  In typical Josh fashion, he then got hurt and didn't play in September.  But, .410 for 80 games?  Wow.

Then, one of the weirdest falls I've ever seen.  Healthy going into 2012, he started on a roll and as June began, after 47 games, Josh was sitting at .368 with 21 bombs and again an OPS over 1.1.  He was once again the best player in the league and it seemed that he would top his 2010 MVP season.  The other-worldly night in Baltimore with 4 homers and 18 total bases.  But, that was it.  For the rest of 2012, he hit .244.  The Rangers let him walk and in 2 seasons with the Angels he hit .255 with 31 total homers.  After May of 2012, he fell into a slump and never came out of it.  How does that happen?  Did his abused body just hit the wall at age 31?

At least Josh got his cash from the Angels.  Through it all he leaves with a .290 average and .865 OPS.  They don't do justice to what he could have been.  I like to look at the per-162 game averages and those are impressive for Josh: 32 homers, 37 doubles, and 111 RBI per 162.  I hope he can keep his demons under control in retirement.  For us, we'll have the summer of 2010.

S

Tony Romo Retires

Following on the heels of the great DeMarcus Ware’s retirement, now comes Tony Romo calling it quits after 13 seasons.  Romo was certainly one of the most polarizing players of the era and I’m not totally sure why that is.  If you put his career in context, he was an undrafted player with no expectations who rose to lead an iconic franchise for about a decade, making 4 pro bowls.  It should be a great story.  But everyone gets irrational when talking Tony Romo.

The Cowboy fans spoiled by success and 2 HOF QB’s could never forgive his shortcomings.  Fans across the country saw him as the face of a team they hate and were jealous for the attention and coverage of the team and their leader.  At his best, he could play the position with anyone, literally making some of the most beautiful passes we’ll ever see.  At his worst he could melt down in big games or situations, never understanding his responsibility to play safe when called for.

I do not think Romo is a hall of famer.  He did not win an MVP or even make 1^st team all-pro (although he should have once in 2014).  He didn’t have playoff success and he played in an era when many QB’s had gaudy stats similar to his.  The Cowboy Ring of Honor will be interesting.  The bar is very high.  As the franchise leader in most passing categories and making 4 pro bowls, I think he’ll get in.

·         Black ink – he led the league in QB rating once, yards per attempt twice, and completion % once

·         4 pro bowls, 1 all-pro team (2^nd team)

·         78-49 as a starter (61.4%)

·         Career yards per attempt of 7.9 is 6^th all-time at retirement

·         Career QB Rating of 97.1 is 4^th all-time at retirement

·         30 game-winning drives is 17^th all-time at retirement

·         25 comebacks is 14^th all-time at retirement

S

College Basketball Bluebloods

I've posted on this before as related to college football, but not basketball.  These are the programs that most fans would list as the all-time best; the "bluebloods".  I'm ranking them based on giving 1 point for a final four appearance and 2 points for winning the title, including the Tar Heel's title from last night, their 6th.

1. UCLA - 17 final fours and 11 titles (last 1995)
2. Kentucky - 17 final fours and 8 titles (last 2012)
3. North Carolina - 20 final fours and 6 titles (last 2017)
4. Duke - 16 final fours and 5 titles (last 2015)
5. Kansas - 14 final fours and 3 titles (last 2008)
6. Indiana - 8 final fours and 5 titles (last 1987)

If you're curious, the program closest to cracking this list is Louisville, with 10 final fours and 3 titles (last 2013).  The Bruins' titles mostly came from Wooden who won 10 from 1964 - 1975.  Kentucky's success has been more consistent with titles between 1948 and 2012 and coming from 5 different coaches.  The Heels are close behind with the most final fours and the great fortune to have both Dean Smith and Roy Williams.  Duke is all Coach K.  Indiana has made the most of their opportunities, while Kansas has not.

S

DeMarcus Ware Retires

I feel like Ware is slightly underrated and under-appreciated.  I will definitely remember him as one of the top-tier Cowboys and one of the most freakishly gifted athletes I ever saw.  I was glad to hear most talk shows this week say that he is a clear hall of famer.  At about 6-4 and 260 he was an incredible combination of explosion and strength.  Also a great guy, a great interview, and a guy who was always smiling.

• Had 8 seasons of double-digit sacks
• High sack seasons of 20, 19.5, 15.5, and 14
• Led the league in sacks twice
• 4-time 1st team All-Pro and 3 times 2nd team
• 9 Pro Bowls
• Super Bowl winner in 2015 season
• Retiring at 8th on all-time sack list with 138.5
• 7.5 sacks in 8 career playoff games
• 3rd all-time at retirement in sacks per game at .78 trailing only Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor

S

Dirk Hits 30K

Although Dirk is not retiring and plans to play another year or two, the occasion of him hitting 30,000 points, which is 6th all-time, made me want to re-visit his career.  19 seasons ago, everyone was trying to score a potential star player from Europe.  When Nellie traded for this kid from Germany it was hard to imagine he would end up being the best.  Being the #6 all-time scorer is rare air so you have to try to figure out where he belongs in history.  I previously published my top 12 and he wasn't in it.  But, I can make the case he is top-20.

The best case for Dirk involves 2 things; his appearance on all-NBA teams, and his playoff performances.  He appeared on 12 consecutive all-NBA teams during his prime, 4 times 1st team and 5 times 2nd team.  Clearly highly respected by peers and media, culminating in the league MVP award in 2006-07 when he had a historic 50/40/90 shooting line.  His case is also boosted by how he raised his play in the playoffs.  In 145 playoff games, he carries a 25.3 scoring average + 10 rebounds and a 23.8 PER.  During the run to the championship in 2010-11, he averaged 27.7 on .485 shooting and won finals MVP.  He averaged over 26 points during 8 different playoff seasons.  He is also ranked #8 in career win shares, and 23rd in career PER.

At his peak, Dirk was a pretty much un-guardable force who would get you 26 nightly.  His dominance in the championship run was spectacular to watch.  His career shooting line of 47/38/88 is unbelievable for a big man and sort of revolutionized the power-forward position.  The "stretch 4" position so popular today pretty much started with Dirk.  You also have to mention that he is the perfect teammate and franchise icon in terms of work ethic, maturity, and attitude.

Some other notes from his career:

• 29-point quarter vs. Utah in 2009
• 50 points in game 5 of West finals vs. Suns 2006
• 48 points on 15 shots in West finals win over OKC 2011
• 27 career 40+ point games
• 3-point shootout champ in 2006

S

Updated NFL rating from Dec 1

Most watched NFL games in 2016:
1. DAL-WASH: 35.1M viewers
2. DAL-PIT: 28.9M
3. DAL-GB: 28.0M
4. DET-MIN: 27.6M
5. DAL-NYG: 27.5M

Rory is playing new clubs

Now that those subpar Nike clubs are history, it will be interesting year with Rory getting better clubs and even Tiger coming back to be shoved down everyone's throat.

Rory's last tournament in October he used a Taylormade M2 and was carrying the ball past Bubba Watson.  He is going to make his first start this week, using Callaway Epic driver and Irons with Titleist wedges and a Callaway Putter that evidently only Phil has used.  He said he will use the Pro V1X because it fits the driver and it created too much spin on his old Nike Irons..

Tiger's saturation  event in Bahamas was a good start for him, but he still had the fear of the big stick anytime it was trouble on the left.  This will show up in tournaments that matter in terrible fashion for him, unless he fixes it.  Of course if he putts well, he can win any week.
Personally, I liked watching him gag from the demons he now sees.


Jack recently commented on Rory, Interesting comments, a lot of people took it as a shot, but it's actually a huge compliment.

“Rory is one of those young men who has got a tremendous amount of talent,” said Nicklaus, who had won seven majors at McIlroy’s age.

“He has won and played on his talent to this point. If he wishes to dominate and go forward then he’s got to improve.

“He has to work hard, he’s got to focus on what he is trying to do and it is up to him. Certainly he has all the tools to be able to do it - it is just whether he has the desire and the willingness to give up some other things.

“And that’s his call. I mean, whatever Rory does, he has established himself as one of the great players that has ever played the game.

“Whether he wants to be the greatest player to have played the game, that’s his determination and it’s his decision whether he wants to make that effort to try to do that.”

J

NFL Ratings

I do not know who to believe on the TV ratings game, but when I heard people saying that the NBA was catching the NFL, I knew that hiring former players as broadcasters had gone way to far.

It is being reported that the biggest viewing audience in 20 years for a world series game 5 was larger at 13.1 than the mid-season game for the Cowboys and Eagles at 10.2.
Shocking to me that the world series with the Media darling Cubs still barely rates ahead of mid-season game in the NFL.

Let's use real numbers for World Series:
Game 1- 19.3 Million up 20%
Game 2- 17.4 Million up 27%
Game 3- 19.4 Million up 47%
Game 4- 16.7 Million up 23%
Game 5- 23.6 Million Highest game 5 since 2009

Cowboys- Eagles 18 Million, This is down from previous years in the 24 Million range

Other numbers to ponder"

• Warriors vs Pelicans 1.875 Million
• Jags vs Titans on Thursday 5 Million
• The OReilly Factor  3,831 Million
• Arkansas Alabama 4.4 Million
•  LSU Auburn 4 Million vs Cub Giants 9.7 Million. Head to Head. 
• Giants Vikings Monday night 13 Million
• Saints Falcons opposite Debates 8 Million
• AFC championship game last year 53 Million. 
• 33 Million watched Alabama vs Clemson.
• NBA Finals runs around 20.5 Million with Cavs Warriors, which is up. 
• The Masters 17 Million in final round. 
• College Basketball 2015 28.3 million and last year 22.3 million. 

Basically, the NFL is in a class of its own and Football is king.
College Football is second.
Then take your pick,
I think it is College BBall,
NBA
MLB
Golf.
Hockey Finals barely beats SEC Football games at 5 Million on  a good night.
Nascar runs big races between 1.4 and 3.6 million viewers/

I did find statistics to suggest that the decline in the NFL this year has been slowing happening since 2013.

This 10% mark they are discussing is from 11% to 10% on the games.
Basically all sports are down from what I can see.


J.

Kershaw's ERA

Clayton Kershaw finished this year with a career ERA mark of 2.37 after 9 seasons.  Checking the career lists, he sits 24th all-time.  However, to put it into context, to find anyone on the list who was a starter and who would qualify as modern-day, you have to go all the way to #88 where Whitey Ford sits at 2.74.  Mariano Rivera is at #13 with a 2.21, but of course he only had to produce in 1-inning stints.  So, there are no starters who pitched in the live-ball era that are closer than a third of a run to Kershaw, which is statistically miles away.  It's just exceedingly rare in sports to see anyone perform at a level so far above anyone else.  I just wish he could translate into the playoffs.

S