What's Going on in Dallas Sports?

   A very late article on my part today, but I have been super busy! Today I had the privilege to help announce a Lovejoy High School Lady Leopards' victory that pushed them into the next round of the playoffs. To hear my attempt at announcing click here! Anyway moving into professional sports.

  Not much for me to say about the Stars that was positive. The Stars came out flat and took a pounding losing by a score of 6 to 2. The game got so out of hand that Kari Lehtonen was pulled in the 3rd period after he gave up a goal making the score 5 to 2. Right now I don't think the Stars can win in Anaheim, which means that they will not be able to make it past this first round. Game 6 will be played this Monday back here in Dallas.

  Into positive news the Mavericks have a 2 to 1 series lead over the number one seeded San Antonio Spurs! This game ended with a Vince Carter three point miracle that somehow landed in the bucket giving the Mavs a win over the Spurs by a score of 109 to 108. Unfortunately I do not have much analysis over this game as I was heading back fro Sulphur Springs announcing a Lovejoy Lady Leopards victory. I think though that if the Mavs can win this series that they can seriously win the NBA title. They will take on the Spurs in Game 4 Tuesday night at the AAC!

  Well last night the Rangers lost 5 to 4 to the Seattle Mariners. I was too busy watching the late night game for the Stars last night to even give an analysis over the loss. The last thing I saw was Adrian Beltre lining out to former Rangers' first basemen Justin Smoak. Right now as I am typing up this blog post the Rangers and the Mariners are knotted up with 3 runs each. The third game between the two teams will be played tomorrow afternoon.

HIGHLIGHTS: Stars   Mavericks   Rangers

No Dallas Sports Teams in Action Yesterday.

    Well yesterday was an off day for Dallas teams and fans as no major Dallas sport teams played. Tonight that will all change! The Rangers will travel to Seattle tonight and take on the Mariners at 9:05. The Stars will play Game 5 of the series against the Ducks as they play tonight in Anaheim with the puck dropping at 9:30. Since no teams played yesterday I unfortunately do not have recaps to go over today. Come back tomorrow and I will talk about how the Stars and Rangers did respectively in their games.

Awesome Dallas Sports Day!

    If you are an all around Dallas sports fan like I am, then you are probably having an awesome day like I am! The Rangers, Stars, and Mavericks all were successful in their respective games yesterday. The Rangers kicked it off yesterday with an afternoon game against their American League West rivals the Oakland A's.

   The Rangers sent Martin Perez onto the mound to pitch. And pitch is exactly what Perez did. Perez went out an pitched a gem! Only 1 run would have worked for Perez, but the offense gave him 3. Perez pitched yet another complete game shut out. He only walked 2 and struck out 3, but in my opinion the only pitching stat that matters is how many they gave up on the scoreboard. The Rangers will take advantage of today off to travel to Seattle, Washington to take on the Mariners with a 9:05 central time first pitch.

   Mavericks definitely proved me wrong coming out and defeating the number one seed San Antonio Spurs. The Mavs showed that you don't want turnover the ball, because they would get a lot of points of the turnovers. In total the Spurs turned the ball over a total of 22 times, which is just crazy coming from the Spurs where they are coached not to do make turnovers and do everything right. Monta Ellis was the team's leading scorer scoring 21 points. Dirk had 16, Marion had 20, and Harris had 18 points off the bench. The Mavs would go onto to win 113 to 96 to tie the series up 1 game a piece. The next game between the two will be in Dallas Saturday at 3:30.

  Stars of course also had a victory on the night giving the Dallas teams wins across 3 out of the 4 called "major sports leagues". And the momentum is swinging in their favor with the Ducks Captain Ryan Getzlaf out and last night Teemu Selanne was apparently a healthy scratch. This young Stars team will take any advantage they can to further themselves in the playoffs. The Stars fell behind at the end of the 1st 2 to 0, but watching this Stars team in the post season they just don't give up. 27 seconds into the 2nd period Jamie Benn knocked in his 3rd goal of the postseason! Fiddler would score the 2nd with the Stars and Ducks tied 2 goals a piece going into intermission. Eakin and Goligoski would score goals 3 and 4 to tie the series up 2 games a piece! The next game will be Friday night in Anaheim where the Stars hope to win there, and then clinch game 6 at home!

HIGHLIGHTS: Rangers vs. Athletics Mavericks vs. Spurs Stars vs. Ducks

Choice Helps Beat His Former Team in the 9th

    This road trip has gone all of Texas' way so far picking up another victory last night against the dreaded Oakland Athletics by a score of 5 to 4. This is especially incredible with Texas having to battle the injury bug as well having pitchers and hitters out. Speaking of injuries, reigning American League player of the week went out of the game in the 4th inning due to tightness in his back. Hopefully this injury is not cause for concern. 

  Going into the 9th inning the Rangers were down 4 to 3, with 2 outs. Josh Wilson got them on the board with double into left field that came close to getting out of the ball park, which scored Martin home. Martin had an incredible 8-2 double play gunning down the runner mid way center field which was the defensive play of the game in my book. Anyway getting back to scoring, Michael Choice the former Oakland Athletic drove in the game leading RBI singling into center to get Wilson home to score. Joakim Soria would then go out into the 9th inning and get his fifth save of the season getting the Rangers to only a 1/2 game behind Oakland. Rangers look to go for the sweep of this 3 game series this afternoon at 2:33 central time

Highlights: Rangers vs. Athletics

Rangers Get Important Game 1 Win Over the A's

    The Rangers have started the season very well considering the number of injuries in key positions, but they were also helped out early in the season by playing some really bad teams. Their first true test came last night playing the back to back defending American League West Champion Oakland Athletics. This game was not an easy one to win to say the least.

   Unfortunately speaking on injuries, Choo might have a sprained ankle. Choo had to leave the game in the 7th inning, but not before starting the game off with a solo home run in the 1st inning. Michael Choice would take Choo's place out at left field. In the 2nd inning Brandon Moss hit a solo home run to get Oakland on the board. Coco Crisp would get a 2 RBI single in that same inning. Fortunately that was all the runs the A's could muster with Darvish on the hill.

  RBI singles by Kouzmanoff in the 4th, Fielder in the 5th, and Murphy in the 8th got the Rangers the 4 to 3 lead over the A's. Closer Joakim Soria would come into the 9th inning and nail down the victory getting his fourth save of the season. The Rangers and Athletics will play again this evening at 9:00 central in Oakland!

Highlights: Rangers vs. Athletics

Stars Kept Alive in Game 3 Win over Ducks

     Last night was an awesome day for the Stars and all its fans! The Stars finally hosted a playoff game at the American Airlines Center for the first time since 2008. As you can see by the photo I took last night as I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the game the crowd was rocking and loud as ever! Scoring for the Stars started from the captain Jamie Benn knocking in his 2nd of the postseason giving the Stars a 1 to 0 lead into the first intermission, and the Stars did not look back from there.

   Val Nichushkin the 18 year old would get the Stars' second goal in the 2nd period. And then Ryan Garbutt would make it 3 to 0 in the 3rd period. The player of the game those was Goaltender Kari Lehtonen getting the complete game shut out stopping all 37 shots on goal just showing why he is one of the best goalies in the National Hockey League. The AAC had an attendance of 19,120 selling out the arena. Being there in person was an awesome experience. I was blessed to be at the Mike Modano jersey retirement ceremony earlier this season as well, and both nights the fans were extremely wild and into the game which makes this hockey fan excited and optimistic about the future. The Stars look to tie up the series 2 games a piece tomorrow night with a lot earlier of a start time at 7:00 at the ol' American Airlines Center!

Highlights: Stars vs. Ducks Game 3

Rangers' Pitchers Get Hammered vs. White Sox 16-2

    Ya I can't really say anything positive for the Rangers this game. They couldn't get anything right it seemed like. Unfortunately all big league teams have off days. The Rangers better hope this was an off day, because they can't play like that this evening against the reigning back to back American League West Champion Oakland A's. The A's have the lead right now early in the season, so this series is very crucial for the Rangers to win the West!

Highlights: Rangers vs. White Sox

Mavericks Blow Lead vs. Spurs in Game 1: 90-85

   As most games with the Mavericks this year, the Mavs took a lead into the 4th quarter and kissed it goodbye! Mavericks were playing great defense and making shots until when it truly counted in the 4th quarter. A lot of Mavericks' though have to be impressed for the Mavericks to hang around in this game keeping it close to the #1 seeded Spurs in the Western Conference. Unfortunately that is just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes losing in a dramatic fashion. The next game of the series is on Wednesday still in San Antonio at 7:00!

Highlights: Mavs vs. Spurs Game 1

Rangers Winning Streak Continues Versus White Sox

    Another win for the good guys came last night versus the White Sox! Pitchers did their jobs, and the hitters were able to get a lot of hits on the board with 13. Colby Lewis on the mound pitched 5.1 innings striking out 4, walking one, and only giving up one run. Highlights at the plate including Fielder getting his second home run as a Ranger, and Kouzmanoff getting his second of the season. Kouzmanoff I thought was going to be able to make the team in spring training because he was pretty impressive defensively and in the batter's box. He is currently batting .395! The Rangers look to get the sweep today on this Easter Sunday with the game scheduled for 2:05.

Highlights: Rangers vs. White Sox

Stars Fall Another Game in Series to Ducks

   Another painful loss came to the Stars last night as they fell to the Ducks. If a couple of mistakes did not happen the Stars could have came out as the victor coming into Monday night at the American Airlines Center. That is not the case however. The Stars got the first goal of the game in the first period 7:40 by an Alex Chiasson power play goal. Toward the end of the 1st however an Erik Cole turnover gave Ryan Getzlaf his 2nd goal of the series. Getzlaf still playing not even 48 hours after taking a puck to the face! Corey Perry would intercept a pass from Seguin to Jamie Benn to get a goal with over 4 minutes left in the 2nd to give the Ducks a 2 to 1 lead into the 2nd intermission. The controversy of the night came in the 3rd goal when Sergei Gonchar had his stick chopped in half behind the Stars net by Cogliano, which he would go on to score. Stars came close getting out of the deficit, but came up short by one goal to loss 3 to 2 to the Ducks. They will continue the series Monday night in Dallas for Game 3!

Highlights: Stars vs. Ducks Game 2

Rangers Shut Out White Sox with Season High Runs and Hits

    Though pitching has been the story through out the season in a negative way, Martin Perez came out last night and showed the other starters how it is done. Perez pitched a complete game shut out on the mound giving up no runs. Perez however might be overshadowed by the amount of runs scored by a Rangers' offense who has been lacking fire power recently. The Rangers won this game by a score of 12 to nothing (which is a season high in runs this season). Rangers also got 18 hits in this match (which is also a season high). Looking through the box score the most hits came from Alex Rios (3 for 5 with a double), but Leonys Martin has an impressive 4 RBI where he went 3 for 5 including a solo home run and a triple! The Rangers play the White Sox again tonight with Colby Lewis set to make his 2nd start of the season.

Highlights: White Sox vs. Rangers

Rangers Win Series Over Mariners

    The Rangers started off very strong in this game taking a four to nothing lead over the Mariners scoring 3 in the first and one in the 2nd inning. This even including Shin Soo Choo knocking in a solo home run for his first as a Ranger. That lead seemed to disappear within a blink it seemed like with Tanner Scheppers on the mound. After he pitched two shut out innings he was pounded in the 3rd inning giving up 6 earned runs! Not to be negative, but I have never seen starting potential from Scheppers. From what I have seen from him he is very prone to the long ball. Once enough pitchers get healthy he needs to go back to the bullpen. Scheppers would not be able to get out of the 3rd only getting 1 recorded out in the inning. Luckily, the rest of the pitchers were able to carry the load and prevent the Mariners from scoring the rest of the afternoon. The Rangers batters were able to put men into positions and get the runs necessary to defeat the Mariners 8 to 6! Tonight the White Sox come into town for a three game series.

Highlights: Game Highlights

Dallas Sports Review 4-16-14

      Before we head into the negatives of the Dallas Sports world yesterday, we should look on the positive that came out of last night. In a game where we knew there would be a pitcher's duel, Felix Hernandez came out on top of the match up. Hernandez and Darvish both pitched 7 innings, but King Felix did not give up any runs in his outing striking out 9. Darvish gave up 2 runs keeping the Rangers in the game. Thanks to some errors by the Seattle defense in the bottom of the 9th inning, Leonys Martin got the walk off single bloop into left center field giving the Rangers a 3 to 2 victory over the Mariners. They look to take the series this afternoon in the last game of this four game series.

HIGHLIGHTS: Rangers vs. Mariners Highlights

    While the Rangers were given a win by the Mariners last night, the Mavericks failed to beat the Memphis Grizzlies. With this loss the Mavericks will have to face the dreaded San Antonio Spurs who are the number one seed in the Western Conference. The Mavs took the Grizzlies in what felt like a playoff game into overtime last night. Unfortunately, Monta Ellis failed at making a basket off the inbound with 1 second left in the game. The chances of the Mavericks doing anything in the playoffs fell dramatically having to play the Spurs. They have not beat them since St. Patrick's in 2012! The only positive thing I can say is you never know what can happen.

HIGHLIGHTS: Mavericks vs. Grizzlies

    Game 1 for the Dallas Stars in their first playoff series in six seasons did not start out anyway they had hoped. At the end of 1 period the Stars already had 3 to nothing deficit to dig themselves out of! Then at the 9:04 mark in the 2nd period Matt Beleskey would get a goal to extend the lead four to nothing. By that point you would believe that the game is over, but not so fast! The Captain Jamie Benn scores his first ever playoff goal 16:36 in the 2nd period. Colton Sceviour gets one of his own only two minutes later. The Stars would go into the 2nd intermission riding a wave of confidence. With only 6:07 left in the 3rd period Seguin would make it only a one goal game! Unfortunately they fall to the Ducks 4 to 3 in Game 1 of the Western Division Series, and are down in the series 1 game to nothing. I still feel confident in the Stars because showed a never give up attitude, and maybe after first game the butterflies might be out of their stomachs! The next game of the series will be in Anaheim at 9:00 central time.

HIGHLIGHTS: Stars vs. Ducks Game 1

Fielder's 1st Homer Helps Rangers beat Mariners

            It took until game number 14 for Fielder to finally hit a ball out of the park. The Rangers beat the Mariners last night 5 to 0. The runs that we had not seen a few days decided to show up last night. The Rangers were able to score 5 runs to help Robbie Ross get his first win as a starter. Ross had no runs help him out in his previous starts. Tonight will be a pitching duel between Felix Hernandez and Yu Darvish! If you are a fan of home runs and a lot of hits this is not the game to watch. Both pitchers are Cy Young contenders with their dominant pitching abilities. First pitch will be at 7:05 tomorrow night, and I will have a recap posted of not only this game, but also the Stars and the Mavericks.

Link to the Rangers vs. Mariners highlights: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?categoryId=2459789&id=10788319