Texas Sports Recap Tuesday, 10/19/10
Sports news from around the great state of Texas. 
What is the Rick Adleman offense? - I'm sure many of us have a good idea of what this offense is made up of, but I'd like to go a little more in depth with it. We've heard the terms "Princeton Offense" to define it, but in my opinion that does not accurately define the offense that your 2010 Houston Rockets will be running. This entire offseason we've heard everyone talk about the great Rick Adleman offense. Right now I'd like to go through the offense and show exactly what each position does in the Rick Adleman offense. Almost everything that I've written here is from Sacramento games I've gone over (mainly the 01-02 and 03-04 seasons) and the past 3 years of watching the Rockets. I do focus mainly on the starters, because I could not find a lot of film on the Sacramento bench.
Ish Smith Makes The 15-Man Roster - Ish Smith Makes The 15-Man RosterThe Rockets waived four players on Monday. Point guard sensation Ish Smith was not one of them. I'm stoked.
Rockets waive four to get to 15-man roster limit - The Rockets waived guard Antonio Anderson, forward Mike Harris, forward Alexander Johnson and guard Jerel McNeal on Monday. With the moves, the Rockets are at the 15-player limit heading into the Oct. 26 season opener at the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. The deadline for making roster moves is Thursday.
Preseason: Oklahoma City Thunder 111, San Antonio Spurs 102 - AT&T Center–Tim Duncan and fast are two terms generally not associated with each other much these days, so when he received a pass in transition from Tony Parker perhaps the term fast break was not the most apt description.
Spurs: Class of the League - Most of you know, though some may not, that Raja Bell owes his NBA career to Coach Pop even though he’s never been a Spur. Now Curtis Jerrells can say the same.
Beaubois to miss start of season - Roddy Beaubois, the Mavericks’ injured guard, remained in a protective walking boot at the Mavericks’ corporate golf outing Monday afternoon and it’s safe to say now that he’s going to miss the start of the regular season. The Mavericks have been careful not to have any timetable for Beaubois’ return, but he’s clearly not going to play in the last two preseason games.
My favorite team: Gritty '05-06 Mavs get past Big Brother - The 2006-07 version of the Dallas Mavericks took the court with a rally cry. They routinely broke huddles, whether during practices or games, shouting the same one word in unison. Finish.
Dirk's twin? You be the judge - OK, maybe it’s just the hair. Actually, it’s most likely only the hair. But at first glance, doesn’t it seem like Ed Roland, the lead singer for Collective Soul, is a close cousin or maybe even a twin of Dirk Nowitzki?
ConvincingLee, Rangers blank Yanks, go up 2-1 - Cliff Lee fanned 13 and allowed just two hits in a dominating eight innings Monday before the Rangers broke open an 8-0 win over the Yankees in the ninth to take a 2-1 ALCS lead.
El Capitan? Andrus shows shades of Jeter - With hits in his first seven playoff games while playing the role of catalyst in a potent lineup, Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus has drawn comparisons to his Yankees counterpart.
Lee K's way into record books - Another postseason start, another record-setting performance for the Rangers' Cliff Lee. The left-hander struck out 13 Yankees in Monday night's 8-0 victory in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, becoming the first pitcher in Major League history to fan 10 or more three times in a single postseason. Lee, who did not allow a hit until Jorge Posada poked a single to right with two outs in the fifth on Monday, now has five career playoff games with 10 or more strikeouts, which ties him with Bob Gibson and Randy Johnson for the most all-time.
Texas GM back home to face longtime foe - Born and raised in NY, Daniels grew up rooting for Mets. The first baseball game Jon Daniels ever saw was at the old Yankee Stadium, which is now just a hole in the ground across 161st Street. "It was a day game against the Twins," Daniels said. "I was 6 or 7 years old at the time. My friend's mother took us. Everybody talks about walking out of the tunnel for the first time and seeing that green grass. I have a very vivid memory of that." Daniels was born and raised in New York and his parents still live in Bayside, which is 20-25 minutes from the new Yankee Stadium. Bayside is a part of Queens and that is New York Mets territory.
(Lee fans 13 in latest gem; Texas tops Yankees 8-0)Lee fans 13 in latest gem; Texas tops Yankees 8-0 - Cliff Lee was even better than before in the postseason, and that was no small feat. The ace of October went through the New York Yankees like a buzzsaw again, striking out 13 and pitching the Texas Rangers to an 8-0 victory Monday night for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven AL championship series.
Cliff Lee continues postseason mastery as Texas takes ALCS lead - Cliff Lee stumbled as he stepped up to his seat at the postgame podium. "Booby trap right here," he said with a grin. That was about his only slip-up all night. The ace of October went through the New York Yankees like a buzzsaw again, striking out 13 and pitching the Texas Rangers to an 8-0 victory Monday for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven AL Championship Series.
Pettitte strong but can't top Lee - Andy Pettitte pulled his cap down low, peeked over his glove into home plate and gave yet another gutsy postseason performance. Too bad for him this one came against Cliff Lee. Making his record 42nd postseason start, Pettitte made one mistake to Josh Hamilton in seven vintage innings, but Lee was nearly unhittable and the Texas Rangers roughed up the New York Yankees' bullpen in an 8-0 win Monday night in Game 3 of the American League championship series.
Lee 13 K's, Rangers have 2-1 lead - Texas Rangers starting pitcher Cliff Lee throws a pitch in the first inning against the New York Yankees in game 3 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium in New York City on October 18, 2010. It's time to start talking about Cliff Lee as one of the all-time great postseason pitchers, sure he hasn't had as many opportunities as say his counterpart Andy Pettitte, but you'd need a degree in sabermetrics to find better.
Don't let the numbers fool you, Cowboys' defense nothing special - Mr. Fix It's defense has been rather ordinary this season. It's pretty good at some things, but it's not great at anything, which is a problem. Wade Phillips' defense was supposed to be so much more. It was supposed to dominate this season, especially after it posted consecutive shutouts to end the 2009 regular season and finished second in the league in points allowed.
Dez Bryant on drive-stopping drop: 'I should have made a play, because that's why they brought me here' - Wide receiver Dez Bryant , the first-round draft choice, caught his first NFL touchdown pass in the Minnesota loss. He also snuffed out the Cowboys' last chance at a comeback with a drop.
How can Cowboys fix penalty problems? All options are open, including running 568 miles - Exasperated by the constant stream of penalties, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips considers everything from fines to running 568 miles as potential solutions to the problem. The Cowboys rank third in the NFL for both penalties (48) and yards penalized (409). They trail Detroit and Oakland in each category. During Sunday's loss at Minnesota, the Cowboys reached double-figures in penalties for the third time this season. They are 0-3 in those games. "There's a fine line there, and we've gone over the line," Phillips said.
Schaub calmly picks up pieces - "Quarterback Matt Schaub's inconsistencies over the Texans' first five games might have worried some people, but coach Gary Kubiak wasn't among the hand-wringers. "I'm not worried about Matt," Kubiak told a reporter who pressed the issue privately last week. "There's nobody more committed to what we're trying to do than he is." Kubiak's faith was rewarded Sunday when Schaub, finally surrounded by his full supporting cast, calmly delivered another impressive comeback, again making the difficult seem ho-hum.
LB Ryans out for season with Achilles' injury - "The Texans could not celebrate Sunday's come-from-behind win over Kansas City the way they wanted to because they felt so bad about losing middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans for the rest of the season. Ryans suffered a ruptured left Achilles' tendon in pass coverage at the end of the first half. He'll undergo surgery this week. "I was planting to go make a play on the ball," Ryans said after the 35-31 victory at Reliant Stadium. "I was trying to jump, and I couldn't push off of my foot. "It sucks. It's the first time I've had to deal with something like this, but it's part of the game. It's tough.
This team takes the good from bad - "So much of this Texans season has not been good that it was understandable, logical even, that boos rained down from the Reliant Stadium unfaithful during yet another bad home performance Sunday. Talk about well-deserved scorn. We had seen this type of performance before from these unpredictably predictable Texans — more good than great, more bad than good. Lest you jump off the bandwagon too soon, however, don't let the numbers on the stat sheet cause you to forget to check the numbers on the scoreboard - at the end of the game.
Cardiac kids' play - "On an afternoon when middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans was lost for the season, the defense arrived 57 minutes late for work and the opposition seized a 10-point lead with 7:05 left in the game, the Texans were staggering like a fighter who had absorbed one punch too many. They had allowed 228 yards rushing and three Matt Cassel touchdown passes that helped the Chiefs lead 7-0 in the first quarter, 14-7 at halftime, 21-7 in the third and 31-21 in the fourth. "What we did today, we couldn't have done two years ago," fullback Vonta Leach said afterward. What they did on a glorious day at Reliant Stadium was to score touchdowns on their last four possessions.
Dodge tries to help UNT keep focus during slide - Todd Dodge spoke about the potential he saw in North Texas nearly four years ago when he took over as the school’s head coach. Dodge said Monday that he isn’t going to quit doing so now, even as the Mean Green continues its downward spiral in a do-or-die year for him and his coaching staff. UNT fell to 1-6 on the season on Saturday in a 34-10 thrashing at the hands of Florida International on homecoming.
Breakdown of the Big 12 at season's midway point - Halfway through the final season of the Big 12 as we know it, there are only three undefeated teams left – and that will be reduced by next weekend, maybe to only one.
History does not favor Oklahoma; TCU needs serious help in BCS - We found out Sunday not all the curveballs are being thrown in the baseball playoffs.
Questions remain for Texas despite big win over Nebraska - From the top on down, the mood and the perspective of the Texas football team had undergone a major makeover Monday. A road win over No. 5 Nebraska silenced critics and eliminated the angst that had surrounded the team. At 4-2 overall (2-1 Big 12) and with five of the final six regular-season games at home, the season suddenly looks full of possibilities.
Injury makes Texas A&M's offensive line even younger - Part of quarterback Jerrod Johnson's struggles is that he's under constant pressure. The Aggies have allowed 23 sacks this season. Junior guard Evan Eike suffered a sprained ankle last Saturday against Missouri and right now he's being monitored. But his loss is massive for a line that is already young, and struggling.
Texas Tech QB Potts has sprained jaw, not a concussion - Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts was being evaluated Saturday for a possible concussion following a hard hit, but it was discovered he had a sprained jaw.
Power play woes lead to first loss of season for Dallas Stars - The Stars' penalty-kill hit rock bottom Monday. At least the Stars hope it did. Dallas allowed four power-play goals on five penalty-kills and lost, 5-4, to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum. The defeat was the first of the year for the 4-1-0 Stars, but it featured a lot of the same problems that have been disguised in wins.