According to ESPN, the Texas Rangers have avoided arbitration with shortstop Elvis Andrus, agreeing Tuesday to a three-year deal worth between $14-15 million.
Andrus, 23, will avoid arbitration for the remainder of his career with Texas thanks to the contract. He batted .279 with five homers and 60 RBIs with 37 stolen bases in 2011.
It was Andrus’ third season in the league as the club’s starting shortstop. He was second in the AL rookie of the year balloting in 2009, hitting .267 with six homers and 40 RBIs with 33 stolen bases. He had a .265 average with no homers and 35 RBIs with 32 stolen bases in 2010.
The 2011 NFL season is over and it is time to turn our attention to the 2012 Draft.
ESPN’s Todd McShay has just released his first, of what will be many, mock drafts and he has the Cowboys taking troubled cornerback Janoris Jenkins from North Alabama in the first round. Jenkins was kicked off the team at Florida for various offenses.
Jenkins performed well during Senior Bowl practices but his off-the-field issues make him a risk, but McShay said this about him:
Check out this quote from Tiger Woods about Tony Romo’s golf game:
“He’s just so fired up about playing. He’s a hell of a golfer to begin with. He’s a scratch golfer. To him, this is like a dream come true for him to come out and play in this type of event.”
“He wants to not just make the cut. He wants to win the tournament, so he’s trying to figure out, ‘How many birdies I need to make and blah blah blah.’ And I said, ‘OK, well, why don’t we just both play well at the same time.’”
Nobody wants to hear the superstar on their team talking about how the team is not playing well at this time. Sure, it might be true, but you still don’t want to hear it when the team has much higher aspirations than just making the playoffs.
Dirk says he’s concerned. Now, I know part of that is him just being honest and giving credit to another team that he knows will play well. However, I still don’t think this is comforting.
The Dallas Stars’ season is really heating up and getting to the business end as they start a stretch of 16 games in 30 days when they take on the Coyotes tomorrow night in Texas.
Under the control of Glen Gulutzan in his first season of NHL coaching, the Stars currently sit just 2 points outside a playoff birth in 9th place. It has been a season of inconsistency for the Stars, as they have destroyed the Stanley Cup holders in one game and then lost to the rock bottom Islanders in another. Gaining consistency throughout the final third of the season will be absolutely crucial.
The NFC East has won the Super Bowl again! I know, it’s not the Cowboys, but there is something to be said for divisional pride. I have a friend who is a lifelong Redskins fan, and he posted on Facebook, “Hail to the Redskins. We beat the Super Bowl champions twice this season.” He’s right, and I think he’s got a point about divisional pride. The NFC East is pretty stinking good.
If you watch Phineas and Ferb, there’s a great episode where the family goes to London. The arch-nemsis of Perry the Platypus (yes, the family platypus is a secret agent who kicks tail,) Dr. Doofenschmirtz, runs not only into Perry the Platypus, but into Agent Double O-O (voiced by the incredibly awesome and talented Damien Lewis from Life and Band of Brothers.) Anyways, they’re talking, and Doofenschmirtz says that “If he’s P and you’re OO, together that spells” (of course he’s going for poo.) Then, Double O-O gets all testy about it and says, “They’re not )’s, they’re zeroes, alright.” Then, Doofenschmirtz counters with, “I think I struck a nerve therrrrre.”
Since the all-star break it has been a mixed bag for the Stars so far. They headed straight out West to take on a surging Ducks side looking to make a late push into the playoff picture. The Stars recorded a mightily impressive 6-2 victory with goals coming from Jamie Benn, Michael Ryder, Vernon Fiddler, Eric Nystrom, Stephane Robidas and Sheldon Souray it what was a great offensive performance.
Rick Carlisle kicked a ball into the stands after a tough loss to the Thunder on Wednesday. Cuban was fined $75,000 and Carlisle was fined $35,000. Cuban was criticizing the officiating after the game because, well, they stunk.
I think we all know that pro sports officials, on the whole, are actually not very good. Especially in baseball and basketball, they are usually very bad at their jobs. So, I think it’s fair for an owner of a team (someone who has a major investment in the product the league puts out being good) to speak up. Unfortunately, the league doesn’t see it that way. Here’s what Cuban had to say after the loss on Wednesday:
Texas Rangers OF Josh Hamilton, who has battled drug and alcohol addictions, said he “had a moment of weakness” and drank alcohol on Monday night. Hamilton addressed the media on Friday and explained the details of the incident.
