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 Rangers still have two other players who have scheduled arbitration hearings; catcher Mike Napoli and outfielder Nelson Cruz.

Cruz, whose eight postseason homers last year included six in the AL Championship Series with a game-ending grand slam in Game 2, is asking for $7.5 million while the Rangers are offering $5.5 million. Cuz made $3.65 million last year, when he hit .263 with 29 homers and 87 RBIs in 124 games.

Napolim who had a career year in 2001, hitting .320 with 30 homers and 75 RBIs in 113 games in his first season with Texas. He is asking for $11.5 million while the Rangers have offered $8.3 million. Napolim made $5.8 million last season.

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:

“Corner is a top need area, and Jenkins proved at the Senior Bowl that he’s still an elite cover corner after spending a year at the Division II level. Dallas will need to get comfortable with his character issues, though, including legal issues that led to his dismissal from the Florida program.”

While Jerry Jones has not shied away from drafting players with troubled pasts (see Dez Bryant), Jason Garrett has said previously that he doesn’t want players with off-the-field problems in his locker room.

The problem I have with Jenkins is not his off field problems it is his position. It was pretty clear last season that the Cowboys needed help on the offensive line.

And that is the line of thinking that Mel Kiper is pursuing in his first Mock Draft. Kiper has the Cowboys taking Stanford guard David DeCastro with their pick (McShay has DeCastro going to Arizona at No. 13).

What position would you like to see the Cowboys address with their first round pick in the draft?

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.’”

Honestly?  I wish that Romo worked as hard on his quarterback play as he does on his golf game.  Since the Cowboys didn’t have a great year, they are in the same division as the team that won the Super Bowl, and we don’t see any end in sight to the Cowboys being mediocre, I think it’s time to put our feet down with Romo.  He needs to stop being so selfish and work harder at being a better quarterback. Isn’t that what Brady, Manning x2, Big Ben, and Rodgers do?  I’m not saying you can’t have fun or do things for recreation, but I’m starting to wonder if he works harder at golf than he does at football.

It’s not endearing anymore because the Cowboys aren’t successful.  He’s got a lot to prove and I think he should be texting and calling Steve Young, Roger Staubach, and Joe Montana more than he’s calling or texting Tiger Woods.

Let’s hope that he gets over the golf thing because it’s getting in the way of football.  I know, I sound like a total lunatic, but I don’t think I can stand this much longer.  He needs to get his head on straight, by playing football.

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.

“We’re not set to make the playoffs yet.  We still have a lot of work to do. I think Memphis is going to make a hard push when Zach [Randolph] comes back, and Houston is playing a lot better and some of those teams behind us are making a strong case. We’ve got our hands full and we know we’ve got to play better.”

Ok, you can say that you need to play better, and you can even give credit to the Grizzlies whom you know will play well when Randolph returns.  But, still.

The teams behind you are making a strong case?  That’s code for, “Teams that are not as good as us are about to step up here and kick our butts.”  That’s a pretty big problem.  Actually, that’s a really big problem.  You mean to tell me that Dirk thinks that the Mavs cannot beat teams that they are better than?

Ouch!

Sure, I’m all about doing some motivation through the media, but geez louis, people.

We’ve got our hands full.  Well, that’s code for, “We don’t see how we’re going to beat the teams that are as good or better than us.”  That’s not good either.  There should be some kind of belief of invincibility within the Dallas organization because they are the defending champions.

Shouldn’t there?

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 9^th 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.

Another key factor is going to be the health of the team. Throughout the season, the Stars have been hit with several huge injury blows that have affected the team in different ways. The likes of Jamie Benn, Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow, Stephane Robidas, Sheldon Souray and Kari Lehtonen have all missed several games through injury. Captain Brenden Morrow currently sits on IR with an upper-body injury.

The Stars’  lone all-star representative Jamie Benn has been in sublime form since returning after having his appendix removed. Dallas have looked good of late going forward with the puck but I have to give the defense a bit of credit. They are starting to improve their positional play as well as creating some good chances with the puck with the likes of Souray, Robidas, Daley and Goligoski being very consistent performers.

Divisional rivals Phoenix travel to the American Airlines to take on the Stars, with 2 points separating the teams. It is set to be a crucial match up as both teams look to push on and stay in the playoff hunt.

My 3 keys to the game for the Stars are;

1)      Kari Lehtonen – If the big Finnish goaltender is on form he is one of the best in the league. When he plays well, the Stars are a very tough team to beat, especially on home ice.

2)      The Stars 3^rd line – When the 3^rd line provide goals, the whole team seems to be given a boost and thrive going forward. These 3 guys know how to recycle the puck and play in the right areas of the pad.

3)      Intensity – After the all-star break for the Stars, they showed great speed and physicality in their game through 60 minutes of hockey. After a few days rest going into the game, it is crucial for the Stars to replicate the high intensity.

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.

Now, what do you do when your divisional rivals are winning and you are not?  Copy them.  That’s pretty much the only way to do this.  You can pretend like it doesn’t matter and you can continue to go about your business as you always do, but it might be smart to start to do business the way they are doing it.

Now, you can’t get Eli Manning, but there is this other thing out there…Peyton Manning.  Since we’re talking about copying the most successful team in your division, get a quarterback called Manning, get a GM that is as wise as Jerry Reese, put in roleplayers like the Giants do, and make sure that you always have depth on defense.  Sure, DeMarcus Ware is awesome, but we’re talking about major depth.

So, could the Cowboys copy the Giants?  Yes.  Will they?  No.  However, getting a Manning for a quarterback, even if it only lasts for a couple of seasons, might be enough to squeak out a Super Bowl title before he retires.  You know Peyton wants to win another one, so why wouldn’t you strongly consider it?  I know, I know, you’ve got Romo, but, come on.  You could draft RG3, sit him behind Manning, waive Romo, and then all would be well.

It would be a very good beginning for a very proud franchise that is in the best division in football today.

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.”

Well, if I start talking about the third quarter, I think I’m going to strike a nerve, but this nerve needs to be struck.  When did this team fall apart in the 2006 finals?  Oh yeah, in the third quarter.  What’s happening now?  They’re melting down in the third quarter.

They’re basically back to where they were before they got Tyson Chandler.  Oh geez, there, I said it.  Tyson Chandler was a big deal and he’s not here now.  I’ve even said in this space that I thought that they could just make a new path without Chandler, but it’s looking like some old habits only died hard when he was around.

Surely, these are correctable problems, but if we don’t bring up the fact that there is some kind of odd coincidence going on here, then we’re not being honest with ourselves.

There is only one way to fix this.  We can’t fix it.  Rick Carlisle has to jump on the team.  Lose his grits on them.  Go CRAZY over the third quarter.  Scare the crap out of them, force them to do it right, and then all is well.  It’s not fun, but it must be done.

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.

The Stars then took on the Sharks the next evening and they yet again struggled when playing back-to-back nights. They fell 5-2 to the Sharks who will most probably top the Pacific division at the end of the regular season. Jamie Benn and Steve Ott grabbed the 2 goals for the Stars as rookie goaltender Richard Bachman was in net for the Stars.

Tonight Dallas face the Minnesota Wild at the American Airlines Center in what is a crucial encounter as just 3 points separate the teams who hover around the playoff spots. The Wild surprisingly topped the NHL around Christmas time but have since struggled and now find themselves in 8^th place. The Stars defense will have to be sharp to contain several threats that the Wild pose going forward with the puck. Dany Heatley, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the off-season, tops the Wild in points scoring with 17 goals and 38 points.

Niklas Backstrom will be in goal for the Wild tonight looking to have a big game as his team have several injury blows ahead of the game. Pierre-Marc Bouchard(concussion), Mikko Koivu (upper body), Guillaume Latendresse(concussion), Jarod Palmer (concussion) and Clayton Stoner (lower body) are all out tonight.

The Stars go into tonight’s game having not lost to the Wild at the AAC since 2003. I think it will be an awesome encounter between 2 decent sides in the Western conference. Puck drop is at 7pm.

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:

“Look, I haven’t said a whole lot about the officiating in a long, long time, but I haven’t seen it this bad in a long, long time.  Guys miss calls; that’s part of the game. You’re not always going to have a great crew. Officials have got to learn that’s part of the game.”

“But these were officials that have been part of the league for years, and it was just off-the-charts bad. And if no one ever says anything, nothing ever happens.”

“If no one ever says anything, nothing ever happens,  We turn in stuff not after every game, but we turn in stuff all the time and we get ‘inconclusive; inconclusive; yeah, we missed this; yeah, we got it right.’ That’s all fine and good, but there’s nobody reporting to us on accountability. And that needs to change.”

“There’s a lot of guys and teams that aren’t having great starts to the season and there’s a lot of crews that aren’t having great starts to the season. The league needs to make some adjustments because you can’t have it like this all the time.”

Let’s go through this quickly.  True.  True.  The NBA doesn’t care.  True.

Cuban is the only voice of reason left, isn’t he?

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.