Rangers Off Season To This Point & My Review Of The Dallas Stars Season

I haven't written anything in a long time and that's mainly because I just got burned out on writing. I know what you are thinking...how can you ever get burned out on writing about sports? Yes I love sports very much, but by the time I'm done with my job I'm just tired and ready to go home to spend time with my lovely wife. I follow sports all day long so I got burned out with writing about it after updating it on Sports Talk 1460 ESPN. But today...I got the urge to write again. So here we go.

*In today's piece, this is all you will hear me say about the Dallas Cowboys. They suck and won't ever go to another Super Bowl until Jerry Jones decides to actually hire a General Manager who knows football. That's all.

*The Texas Rangers have been the talk of a lot of rumors at the Baseball Winter Meetings at Disney World. After pulling off the trade for Prince Fielder, the Rangers are looking to add another power bat. I've heard people talking a lot about the trade that sent Ian Kinsler to Detroit for Fielder and I gotta say...I LOVE IT!!!

Yes I was a Kinsler fan...still am. But you can't get upset when you're favorite player is traded, especially if the trade makes your ball club better. Kinsler was a good player, but Prince Fielder is an elite player. He is a game changer. You put him in front of Adrian Beltre in the Rangers lineup and look for Fielder to compete for AL MVP. Mark my words on that. Now as for who else the Rangers are looking at. As of this very minute (11:49 am on Tuesday, December 10, 2013) the Rangers have been rumored to be going after left handed power hitter Shin Soo Choo and right handed power hitter Nelson Cruz. I like the idea of either one of them...or both...in a Rangers uniform. Choo won't come cheap, but if the speculated trade that sends Mark Trumbo to the

Arizona Diamondbacks from the Los Angeles Angles does indeed happen, then look for Choo's price to come down as the Rangers will be pretty much the only suitor for Choo. Cruz wants to stay in Texas. He turned down a 5-year $75 million from the Seattle Mariners. He wants a 3-year deal while the Rangers only want to give him a 2-year deal with a 3rd year option. I say give him the 3 years, let him be your DH, and go after Choo as well. The Rangers did pick up an awesome prospect in Michael Choice from the Oakland A's last week. I say sign both Choo and Cruz, then when Alex Rios leaves the Rangers after the 2014 season, Choice will be ready for the big show and can take over right field. Last year at this time, the Rangers were in every big name player rumors and came out with absolutely nothing. This year, they have really only been in on 2...Nelson Cruz and Shin Soo Choo. I say go get both and let Choice develop one more year. I've met Michael Choice on a couple occasions at the Mansfield D-Bat hitting facility (Yes I go there from time to time to work on my hitting as I play amateur baseball. I'm our team's utility guy. And yes I'm bragging. lol) Really nice kid and a really good ball player. I'm excited to see when he makes it to the big leagues for good just how good he will be.

*The Dallas Stars have finished just over 1/3rd of their season and currently are 14-9-5. They are 5th in the Western Conference's Central Division and sit 7 points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the final playoff spot. I gotta tell ya...the young Stars are fun to watch. They have some very talented players on this team. Tyler Seguin is quickly becoming the foundation, Rich Peverley is the perfect team player, and Antoine Roussel is the enforcer that the Stars haven't had in a while. They just gotta figure out how to play defense. If they were a better

defensive team, those 14 wins would probably be at least 17 or 18 wins. Their defense has just not been there for much of the season. Kari Lehtonen has been outstanding in net. He has reminded me of Yu Darvish from last season...he gives up only 1 goal and can't get any support. I think if the defense can step it up the rest of the way, you will see the Stars in the playoffs again this year. I think Jim Nill needs to make one move before the trading deadline...go get a hot shot defensive player. You get an All Star defensive player, he makes all the other players better on defense. If Jim Nill does that, I think the Stars become contenders for Lord Stanley's Cup. Just my opinion.

So Ranger fans...chill out over losing Kinsler. You won't remember him when Fielder is making it hard for the people in the all you can eat section in the home run porch to eat their nachos by knocking home run after home run into the upper porch. Our lineup will be good. If they can add Choo and/or Cruz...it'll be alot better. And Stars fans...keep supporting this team. I think you are seeing the beginning of what will be a very good hockey team. Just like this year's slogan...you are witnessing a new Star rising. Go Rangers and Go Stars!!!