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Tornado Weekly - Week of March 19

The Texas Tornado stayed hot over theweekend after picking up two home winsagainst the New Mexico Mustangs. Withthe victories, Texas now has wins in fourstraight games. The Tornado dominatedplay on Friday, but still trailed headinginto the third period before three straightgoals gave the Tornado a 4-2 win. Thenext night, Drew Allen notched a hattrick, with linemate Drew Mayer assistingon all three of his goals en route to a 5-2Tornado victory. Texas even got a win inexhibition play on Sunday, beating a ros-ter filled with former pro hockey playersin a 4-3 win at the sixth edition of Prosvs. Prospects.

Friday, March 16th- Tornado come frombehind for 4-2 winThe Texas Tornado won their thirdstraight game with a come-from-behind,4-2 win over the New Mexico Mustangson Friday. Taylor Herndon notched a pairof goals while Drew Mayer had twopoints, including his first goal as a mem-ber of the Tornado. Jackson Leef was theother Tornado goal-scorer, while HunterLeisner got the win for the Tornado. Hesaw just eight shots on goal all game,however, as Texas outshot New Mexicoby a wide 38-8 margin. The Tornadotrailed by identical scores of 2-1 afterboth the first and second period, but threestraight goals in the third pushed Texas tothe victory.

Saturday, March 17th- Allen s hat trickpropels Tornado to 5-2 victoryThanks in part to a Drew Allen hat trick,The Texas Tornado picked up its fourthstraight victory with a 5-2 win over theNew Mexico Mustangs on Saturday.Jackson Leef and Taylor Herndon werethe other Tornado goal-scorers, whileHunter Leisner made 20 saves for his 7thwin with the Tornado this season. Withthe victory, Texas stayed just one pointback of Topeka for second place in theSouth division. Allen had goals in allthree periods, Leef scored for the secondtime in as many nights, and Herndon nowhas four goals in his last three games.

Sunday March 18th - Youth trumps expe-rience in Pros vs. ProspectsIn the sixth edition of the Texas Tornado sPr≠os vs. Prospects game, the Tornadodefeated the Pros, 4-3. The Pros rosterfeatured Joe Nieuwendyk, Ed Belfour,Jere Lehtinen, and a host of other formerNHLers (A complete list can be foundbelow).Four different players scored forTexas, while the Pros picked up two goalsfrom Lehtinen and another from Stars


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AROUND THE AREATHIS WEEK IN TORNADO ACTION

BASEBALLPITCHING LOOKING GOOD

FISHERDERON WILLIAMS IN MAVS FUTURE?

OPINION BASEBALL - MORE THAN A GAME

GOLF ONE-ARMED GOLFER

COVER STORYROUGHRIDERS 10TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

HOCKEYDIVISION LEAD NOT SAFE

SPORT SHORTSDIRK ON FIRE

TICKET WINDOWWASH WITH THE HARDLINE

DININGST PETE’S DELIVERS!

March 23-29, 2012Volume 10, Issue 30

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TEXAS TORNADOAROUND THE AREA

Catching up with the Texas Tornado

WEEKLY CALENDAR

Mavericksat

Rockets7:00 PMFSSW

Rocketsat

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Americansat

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MARCH

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head coach Glen Gulutzan. Joakim Jutrasand Hunter Leisner split time in goal,though Jutras started and did not allow agoal on 11 shots. The victory marked justthe second time the Tornado have comeout on top in the exhibition contest.

Upcoming Games and PromotionsIt may be hard to believe, but the final twohome games of the regular season arealready upon us. After two games on theroad in Corpus Christi this upcomingweekend, both teams will be back in

action at Dr Pepper Arena for the FAN-tas-tic Finale, coming up on March 30th and31st. The Tornado will have plenty ofgiveaways from our sponsors, as we put abow on the 2011-2012 regular season. Butdon t forget, the Tornado have alreadyclinched a playoff spot and will beannouncing dates for playoff games assoon as they become official. And ofcourse, there s still the Robertson CupNational Championship Tournament,which will be hosted at Dr Pepper Arenafrom May 3rd-May 8th.

Tornadoat

Corpus Christi7:05 PM

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Corpus Christi7:45 PM

Legendsat

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Renoat

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TEXAS RANGERSBASEBALL

Rangers pitching on display this Springby DIC [email protected]

Local fans are grumbling about theRangers 5-12 record in their first 17 CactusLeague games, but this is not a stat toworry about. Spring games, especiallyearly spring games are often decided overthe final three innings when starters havedeparted, and the players in the game areminor leaguers that are unlikely to see thelight of day in Arlington this season. Fromthis point forward though, the results willhave more significance. The initial camproster of 58 has been pared down by atleast 14. Starting position players are play-ing more innings, some even the entiregame. Starting pitchers are now expectedto last at least five innings, as they headinto their fourth appearance of the spring.So far the starting pitching has been out-standing. With Neftali Feliz's third springstart Tuesday; all seven starters have madethree appearances. The collective statisticsfor the projected starting five of ColbyLewis (0-1, 3.00), Derek Holland (2-0,2.00), Matt Harrison (1-0, 1.80), YuDarvish (0-0, 3.00) and Feliz (0-1, 4.50)are 3-2 with a 2.79 ERA. Those statisticsare for Major League games only. Lewishas made just two Major League appear-ances and a third in a triple-A game thestats for which are not included. Thisweekend, Darvish and Feliz are expected topitch in intrasquad or minor league game,as the team plays the Angels on theirscheduled day, and the Rangers don't wantto show them off to their chief divisionchallenger.

Scott Feldman has also been good thisspring with nine outstanding innings inthree appearances. Unfortunately for hisstatistics, he was hit hard trying to com-plete a fifth inning last Saturday, which

skewed them. Alexi Ogando likewise wasvery good in his first two appearances, butgave up some runs aided by poor fieldingsupport as a reliever in a game against theCubs last weekend.

NEW STARTERS STRUGGLINGActually, the two that have struggled themost are Darvish and Feliz, the two thathave never started a major league game.Darvish has shown his reputed assortmentof pitches, but location has been a problem.He has walked seven in nine innings. Hisaverage pitches per inning are 15.3, a rea-sonable number, but he's thrown just 58%for strikes.

Feliz has blamed his early struggles onconcentrating on throwing off speed pitch-es irrespective of the situation. His outinglast Tuesday was his best - three inningsallowing just two hits and a walk, whilestriking out two. However, he did not goout to pitch a fourth inning as plannedbecause of shoulder tightness. PitchingCoach Mike Maddux said afterward that itwas precautionary, but there is concern as

Feliz was shut down at one point last sea-son for two weeks with shoulder fatigue.Overall though, the starting pitching isshaping up just fine. The bullpen though isanother matter. Closer Joe Nathan hasstruggled. He has allowed six runs, allearned, in three innings. He has walkedthree and given up five hits for a whopping2.67 WHIP. Primary set-up man MikeAdams had hernia surgery this off seasonand is slow rounding into form. He'spitched just three innings and hasn't beensharp with a 6.00 ERA. Koji Uehara madehis fourth appearance this week, and it'sthe only one that he did not allow a run.His ERA is 12.46.

OGANDO TO FILL HOLESMaddux told Dan Plesac on the MLB net-work that Ogando is one of the best fivestarting pitchers on the team. He's alsobeen very good in relief last year in theplayoffs and in 2010. With the struggles ofNathan and Adams so far, Ogando is amost important piece to the bullpen puzzle. As for the left-handed reliever position inthe bullpen, Michael Kirkman threw twoscoreless innings Tuesday, allowing just ahit and striking out one. That's his bestouting by far, as his ERA and WHIP were10.5 and 2.00 in his four prior appearances.The team likes his pitch assortment, and hehas pitched in relief in each of the past twoseasons, so he has experience in the role atthe major league level. He's the favoritedespite the poor results so far, but NeilCotts, Joe Beimel and Mitch Stetter arestill in the mix for the roster spot.

Robbie Ross is also turning heads in springtraining as a candidate for the left-handedreliever. He has pitched just six gamesabove the Class A level in the minorleagues, but has thrown well. GM JonDaniels said earlier this week that Ross is aserious candidate for the spot. He is forc-

ing the Rangers to decide between hisvalue to the major league team right now,and his development as a starting pitcher.Despite his showing, no runs allowed onjust three hits in four innings this spring,Ross would be a huge surprise if he makesthe opening day roster.

CONTRACT MATTERSDerek Holland agreed to a five year con-tract this week valued at $28.5 million. Ithas unspecified incentives, and the clubholds options for two more seasons thatwould bring the total value to $49.5 millionif exercised. The team thus controlsHolland's services for his three arbitrationyears and up to three years after arbitrationwhen he could be a free agent. This con-tract is significant as it is the first one thisoff season that involved buying out freeagency eligible years.

Also of note is that Josh Hamilton indicat-ed to former major league general managerJim Bowden on Sirius XM radio that hewants to be a Ranger and that his price tagwill be smaller if a deal gets done beforethe season begins than it will be if he hitsfree agency. Hamilton is on the secondyear of a two-year $24 million contract andcan opt for free agency after this season. The Rangers and Hamilton had contracttalks earlier this off season that were tabledafter Hamilton's alcoholic relapse atSherlock's Pub in January. Prior to theincident, he had said he wanted a contractextension finalized before spring training,as he didn't want the distraction of contractnegotiations during the season. This wasthe first indication that the deadline hasbeen moved forward. The Dallas MorningNews later reported that Nolan Ryan saidthe team would be in contact withHamilton's agent.


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by MIKE FISHERF I S [email protected]

There are lazy assumptions being made regarding theDallas Mavericks and their cap. There is inaccurate infor-mation being issued regarding the money Deron Williamscan be paid if he joins the Mavs in the Summer of 2012.But there is nothing dull or unclear about the facts, orabout the intentions expressed in recent hours by Deron orby Mavs GM Donnie Nelson.

“It's a position we haven't been in recently,” Donnie saidThursday as the NBA trade deadline passed. “This givesus an opportunity to see if we can't get out there and landa big fish.”

Nelson can't name the name. But we can. The big fish isthe perennial All-Star point guard Deron Williams fromThe Colony, who can be a free agent and can leave theNets this summer.

Is he planning on leaving?

“I'm not opting-in,'' Williams told the New York DailyNews today. “It's not monkey-see/monkey-do.''

Williams' comment is a reflection on Dwight Howard'sdecision to opt-in with his present team in Orlando, amove that may take Howard off the summer market. ButDeron? He's clearly prepared to shop himself. And thedefending-champion Mavs are clearly prepared to buy.

"We like the flexibility we have this summer,'' Nelsonsaid. "We feel like we're in a little bit of a 'have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too' (situation) in that we … can contend thisyear and then come summertime we can be active out inthe market."

AND HOW DOES THAT MARKET LOOK?

There are some 2012 Mavs numbers that are fixed. DirkNowitzki, for instance, will get $20,907,128. That's lockedin. There are other numbers that remain fluid. Forinstance, no matter how many times some outlets keepwriting that the 2012-13 cap will be $58.044 million, theyare wrong - wrong in thinking it's fixed.

The lowest the cap can be is be $58.044 million.

Depending on NBA revenue, it can also be $60 million.Or $61 million. Or whatever. (Using the most reliablesource we've found over the last few years in predictingthe cap, some currently project it to be $61.078 million for2012-13.)

That will have a great deal of influence regarding whatother moves the Mavs make to supplement the employ-ment of Dirk and the addition of a “big fish.''

WHAT WILL DALLAS BE ABLE TO PAY DERONWILLIAMS?

One outlet has announced that the number is “four yearsand $59 million - so far off that we assume it to be a typo.

Here are the facts and the true numbers: Deron willprobably be limited by a first-year max of $17,177,795,which is 105 percent of his prior salary. But by rule, thatlimit would be increased to "30 percent of the cap" if theNBA's 2012-13 salary cap is higher than $60,792,168.Which is possible. But using numbers as they stand:

With his raises over the course of the four years,

Deron's total contract in Dallas will be at least $73.5 mil-lion.

It is obviously true that he can make more money overthe course of this next contract by sticking with NewJersey and thus being given a fifth year. It's also true thatin Deron's comments today, the DFW native talked ofwanting to sign in a place where he will eventually retire -a tip to the fact that that he's only 27, and that after thisfour- or five-year contract will come another one, a finalonce.

Do we know where Deron will land? No, though froma Mavs perspective, it is clear they are being dealt into apoker game in which there are precious few chairs. Butwhile we await the courtships that will commence on July1, know that low-ball guesses on his salary and low-ballguesses on what the cap will be are worthy of correction.

And know that there is this one “big fish'' worth court-ing and worth catching.

Check out Mike Fisher on Twitter atFishSports, on the Mavs telecasts on Fox SportsSouthwest, and at DallasBasketball.com

SPORTS TALK WITH MIKE FISHERTHE FISH

Mavs looking to land “big fish” in 2012


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by MIKE [email protected]

I love baseball.

One of the saddest sights in the world isthe empty baseball diamond on a chillyday in the dead of winter. As the corridorto March opens, that dreadful sightretreats and the promise of a new seasonarrives. This is the time of year that base-balls and optimism fill the air but so doquestions with very few definitiveanswers.

Start with the Texas Rangers. Have theyrecovered from 2011's post-season traumaand what do we make of their slow start inSpring Training? Can Japanese superstarYu Darvish become a major league ace? Isthis Josh Hamilton's last year with theTexas Rangers?

What about over in Frisco? Will fans ofthe RoughRiders get to see prizedprospects such as Mike Olt or JuricksonProfar this season? Can the TCU HornedFrogs maintain their powerful status incollege baseball? Dallas Baptist made ahuge post-season run in 2011 - are they afluke or are they for real?

North Texas area high schools are filthywith talent and district play is in fullswing. Expectations are high for schoolssuch as Rockwall-Heath, Flower Moundand Southlake Carroll. There's a chanceyou haven't heard names such as JakeThompson, Sheldon Neuse or BillyMcKinney in the past but you will thisspring.

There are kids all over North Texas whohave made the jump from rec ball to selectball that are struggling for the first time

because they're now playing against kidsof equal or greater ability. Some kids havejust started to pitch while others havemade the transition to “coach pitch” fromt-ball.

There are also several thousand parentsthroughout this area buzzing with excite-ment right now because their four yearolds will start playing t-ball in May. Iknow this because in 1999 I was one ofthose parents.

My son is now playing for his high schoolteam and is making an impact on the var-sity while my younger nephews aresplashing around their JV teams. This issuch an electrifying time of year on thecalendar and a big reason why is because

the off-season is over and baseball is back.

THE GREAT GAME KEEPS GIVINGI don't like delving too deeply into myown psyche but I do know that baseballprovides a powerful connection betweenparents and their kids. My father coachedme when I was growing up and also tookme to several major league baseballgames. I was a baseball freak at an earlyage and yes, I puddled up the first time Isaw “Field of Dreams.” As I became oldermy life changed. I drifted away from base-ball but came back to it more and moreafter my son was born and he began toplay.

A confluence of events happened in 2003that brought me back front and center to

the church of baseball. That was the base-ball season the impossible seemed possi-ble as both the Boston Red Sox andChicago Cubs looked like they might goto or finally win a World Series. My fami-ly was also rooting for the impossible tobe possible on a much different levelbecause on Valentine's Day of 2003 myfather was diagnosed with Stage IV lungcancer.

That spring, my son played on two base-ball teams and my older daughter was ona softball team. I threw myself into help-ing coach every team they played onbecause baseball was a shelter and a greatescape from the reality of going to thehospital to helplessly watch my dad die alittle more each day.

After seeing my father undergo 48 dosesof radiation and all the effects, it was eas-ier to have compassion and gain the prop-er perspective when a ground ball wentthrough the legs of an 8 year old boy.

That summer my daughter's team lost inthe playoffs and my son's Little LeagueAll-Star team made it to the regional semi-finals. That Fall the Red Sox and Cubsboth lost soul crushing Game 7s in theplayoffs. My father died on June 27 of thatyear and while it's true that baseball isdesigned to break your heart, 2003 was theyear it helped mend mine and I am forev-er grateful.

The Texas Rangers season starts on April6 and all those questions about the teamwill be answered soon enough in the nextfew months. Till then, I cannot wait to goto the ballpark, get something cold todrink, eat soggy nachos and listen toChuck Morgan play “Centerfield” over theloudspeakers while the Rangers makeanother run at greatness. Play ball!

OPINION

When baseball became more than just a game


by TOM WARDS PE C IAL CO NTR I BUTO Rtompward@sbcglobal .net

“A diamond can’t be perfected withoutfriction, and people cannot be perfectedwithout trials.” -Anonymous

Next time you’re out on the course andstart complaining about not playing welllet me tell you a story about a friend ofmine named Gary Smith. Before you openup your rolodex of excuses about the con-dition of your golf game and all the rea-sons you aren’t playing better I want youto remember Gary’s saga. It’s been 14years ago this month that Gary made atough decision to have his right arm ampu-tated below his elbow. The reason for thisdrastic surgery was because he had aninoperable cancerous tumor in his rightforearm. It could have spread and cost himhis life so he opted to just remove the rightarm so he could go on with his life. Priorto discovering the devastating news that hehad cancer Gary was an avid golfer. Hetook up the game in 1973 and got hishandicap as low as an eight. Gary told methat seven months after losing his rightarm he began the process of taking up thegame of golf again. Gary’s journey backwas a slow one as he had to relearn simplethings that we take for granted like learn-ing to drive a car, buttoning shirts, puttinga sandwich in a bag, etc.. Golf was some-thing that brought him joy and immensepleasure and he wasn’t about to give it up.

THE GREAT EQUALIZERWe first met about 5 years ago through amutual friend of ours. My buddy that Iwas teaching at the time knew Gary whenhe worked as a sales rep for Coors beer.Gary and I hooked up and I gave himsome lessons. Gary knew that I had taughtnumerous golfers with physical disabili-ties so it gave me an inside track to help-ing him deal with playing golf with onlyone arm. Ironically, just before we first gottogether I was coming off a long termshoulder injury. I had something calledadhesive capsulitis commonly known as a‘frozen shoulder.’ I couldn’t hold my rightarm any higher than about waist level highor I would feel a horrible shooting painthrough my arm and shoulder blade. It waslike someone took a knife and jabbed mewith it. Needless to say I wasn’t able toplay any golf during that period. I wentthrough intense physical therapy twice aweek for over a year. I could still teach

golf, but I couldn’t play. I started to hitballs with my left arm only which wasfine. Many years earlier I taught myself toswing with just one arm(left or right)when I started working with golfers whohad lost their arms due to health problemsand war veterans who helped serve ourcountry. I thought if I could put myself intheir shoes( so to speak) I could have aclearer understanding on what they weredealing with and how approach teachingthem. I knew I could help Gary on hisreturn to playing golf again with renewedvigor. I told him like I tell all my studentswhether they’re physically challenged ornot. The golf ball doesn’t care who’sswinging the club whether you have onearm or one leg. The beauty of the game isthat it doesn’t discriminate. That’s why Ibelieve golf is one of the best sports- it’s agreat equalizer.

When Gary and I got together I asked himto hit some balls for me with differentclubs so I could observe him in action. AsI told him after watching him hit shots,having been right handed and now beingforced to use only his left arm was certain-ly going to be a challenge. However, itwas one that he would overcome and ulti-mately enjoy greater results than he couldever have imagined. “ Failure is not anoption” is the mantra I use in all my clin-ics worldwide. That’s because you shouldnever give up, especially if you have agoal you want to reach. Golfers get frus-trated when things don’t go their way. Itell them just remember regardless of howyour shot ends up you either have resultsor reasons you don’t have results, but thereare no excuses. You can learn from yourmistakes or you can continue down thedestructive path of making the same errorstime and time again( like a broken record)if you don’t change your behavior. Allgolfers need to allow their club to swingback on a natural inside path as they takethe club head away. Gary, like a lot ofgolfers was taking his club a little too faroutside on his takeaway and lifting theclub upwards too steeply as he reached thetop of his backswing. This move was caus-ing him some real problems because hewas losing control of his club. A clubbeing swung at the inappropriate angle ishard to control, no matter how strong youmay be. A person with two hands can peri-odically get away with this action becausethey have some leverage with their rightarm. Unfortunately, Gary doesn’t havethat luxury.

Next, I demonstrated to him what I want-ed him to do by hitting some shots withmy 7 iron only with my left arm. I can hit

one armed 7 irons about 165-175 yards onaverage. Once Gary could see that what Iwas talking about was possible we wereable to move forward in the lesson plan. Iwas able to back up exactly what I wastalking about to him which really made abig impact he later told me. Then I slowlywalked him through his takeaway in slowmotion all the way to the completion ofhis backswing. By systematically helpinghim feel and see what the correct swingpath was relative to his physical build andleft arm length everything started to cometogether for him. It’s almost like you couldsee a light click on in his brain. EverythingI was trying to convey to him finally made

sense, he told me. I won’t bore you withthe details, but Gary is well onto his wayto shooting in the 70’s again. Finally, Ican’t tell you how many times I run intopeople who greet me with such tired andworn out expressions like ‘You can’t teachan old dog new tricks.’ Listen, you give mea person with one arm and a great spiritlike Gary’s and I’ll take them all day longover a healthy person with two good armsand a bad attitude.

Tom Ward can be reached at www.teetimewithtom.com

WITH TOM WARDGOLF

One-armed golfer overcoming adversity

By: Alex Vispoli & Jarah Wright

Baseball is just around the corner, and the2012 season for the Frisco RoughRidersgets underway on April 4 with an exhibi-tion game against the two-time defendingchampions of the American League, theTexas Rangers. The 'Riders hit the roadfrom April 5 - 10 to start the regular seasonand return to Dr Pepper Ballpark on April12 for their home opener. Another excitingseason is almost here and this preview willget fans ready for another summer ofFrisco fun.

HOME ON THE RANGEThe RoughRiders' major league parent

club makes another trip to Dr PepperBallpark, as the Texas Rangers come toFrisco to play the 'Riders in an exhibitiongame on April 4. The Rangers are comingoff a 96-66 season and a second straightWorld Series berth. Several formerRoughRiders played significant roles forthe Rangers last season, including IanKinsler, Mitch Moreland, Elvis Andrus,Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, DerekHolland, and former Ranger C.J. Wilson.This game is part of a series of exhibition

contests for the Rangers, as they will alsoplay the Triple-A Round Rock Express onApril 2. Opening Day for Texas is onApril 6 against the Chicago White Sox inArlington.

BUE-YEAH!Former Rangers third baseman Steve

Buechele is returning for his third seasonas manager of the RoughRiders. Last sea-son, Buechele, affectionately known as“Bue,” led the RoughRiders to a 79-61record and a second-straight playoff berth.Frisco lost in the divisional round of thepostseason to eventual TL champion SanAntonio. This season Buechele is poisedto pass Tim Ireland's record for most mana-gerial wins (needs 8 more wins to breakrecord).

LIVE LONG AND PROFARThe prospect Rangers fans are most excitedto see in Frisco this season is 19-year-oldshortstop Jurickson Profar. The slenderCuracao native is coming off an MVP sea-son in the South Atlantic League in 2011,during which he hit .286 as the leadoff bat-ter for the Hickory Crawdads with 12 home


FRISCO ROUGHRIDERSCOVER STORY

Plenty to look forward to in Riders’ 10th season

runs, 65 RBI, and 23 steals. MLB.comnamed Profar the seventh-best prospect inall of baseball. The Rangers have notannounced where he will start the season,but Profar is expected to step into aRoughRiders uniform at some point in2012.

OLT OVERCOMING OBSTACLESPower-hitting infield prospect Mike Olt

should make his way to Frisco this season,perhaps by Opening Day. Olt spent the2011 season with the Myrtle BeachPelicans, the Advanced-A affiliate of theRangers. His terrific start to the seasonwas halted by a broken collarbone that hesuffered in a home plate collision, result-ing in two months of rehab. Olt returnedto play with the Pelicans on August 20 and

finished the final 15 games of the regularseason.

The 2010 first-round draft pick isknown for his powerful bat and postedstrong numbers before the injury, hitting.286 batting average with 10 home runs,and 34 RBI in 54 games. A third basemanby trade, he has also gotten some playingtime on the opposite side of the diamondat first base during spring training. Oltwas also named one of the Rangers TopTen Prospects by Baseball America thisseason, ranking fourth.

A DECADE OF MEMORIESThis season, the 'Riders are celebrating

their tenth anniversary. Construction of DrPepper Ballpark began in February 2002


and the first game was held on April 3,2003 before a sellout crowd of more than10,000 fans. A tribute to the unique fanexperience and architecture, Dr PepperBallpark was named the Best NewBallpark for 2003 by BaseballParks.com.

Over the course of the last nine sea-sons, the RoughRiders have won accoladesboth on and off the field. The team hasbeen to playoffs six times and won theTexas League Championship in 2004. DrPepper Ballpark also hosted the TexasLeague All-Star Game in 2005 and 2009.In 2007, the RoughRiders were named thetop Double-A franchise, winning the BobFreitas Award by Baseball America.Frisco has been the top-drawing Double-Ateam across Minor League Baseball andlast season welcomed its five millionth fanto Dr Pepper Ballpark.

RENNY'S RECORDSWith a breakout season in 2011, hopes

are high for Renny Osuna. The 26-year-oldVenezuelan has joined the RoughRidersduring the 2009 season and has steadilyimproved his numbers each year. WithOsuna's single in the first inning on August10, he became the new 'Riders all-time hitsleader, passing Steve Murphy's record of319 base knocks. He ended the 2011 sea-son with 153 hits, good for the third on the

'Riders single-season list; he trailed onlyJoaquin Arias (157 hits in 2005) and CraigGentry (155 hits in 2009). Osuna has post-ed 347 hits in his time with Frisco and isalso tied with Emerson Frostad with 131RBI, the most in any RoughRiders career.

FAMILY FUN FOR ALLThe Dr Pepper Ballpark experience wouldnot be complete without mentioning thefirst-class fun that takes place when thegame is taking a break. The between-innings entertainment that has become astaple of RoughRiders games returns, witha few new twists added to the mix this sea-son. With an inventory of more than 120games, contests, and skits, no fan will seethe same entertainment show at any of the70 home games this season. MascotDeuce and his cousin Daisy are back, aswell as the Junior Diamond Dancers whowill perform on the dugouts for a fourthstraight year. Fireworks will follow everyFriday night game and kids can run thebases every Sunday at Dr Pepper Ballpark.There are few other wrinkles to this year'sentertainment offerings, like a MariachiBand on Cinco de Mayo. To find out whatelse is in store at 'Riders games this sea-son, fans will have to see for themselves aswe celebrate ten great years of FriscoRoughRiders baseball.

DIRK IS ON FIRE, RANGERSROLLING AND DUTCH GETSNEW DEAL.

by KATE DELANEYS PE C IAL CO NTR I BUTO [email protected]

THE DALLAS DESTROYER RIPS DENVERMr. Automatic, aka Dirk Nowitzki, is ashooting machine; I know it's not a bigrevelation here in DFW. However the restof the basketball world was re-introducedto the inhuman skills of Dirk in theMavericks’ huge road win over Denverearlier this week.

He was 12 of 19 from the field; none ofthe Nuggets could defend him! I'd like totake a moment to relive some of the gamehighlights if you don't mind.

The three point shot at the beginning ofthe third that led to seven straight pointsfor the Mavericks - a big swing in thegame. Also in the fourth quarter Dirk's 16-

foot turnaround jumper, the “Yeah-baby”shot of the night pretty much icing thegame and his time on the court. Denverwas done with eight minutes to play and alopsided score of 101 to 82 at that point.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle was even movedto say that it was one of the best gamesthat he has seen played this year in theleague. The 112-95 win over the Nuggetsnot only gives Dallas the series win for theseason but it shows they don't have to playerratic basketball to win. Not to sound toomuch like Phil Jackson but the flow waswell almost Zen like.

The team got some good news on the roadabout Shawn Marion. There is no struc-tural damage in that sore left knee - thankgoodness. Marion has been dependableplaying in 44 games before missing theselast two; he's key in a playoff run.

RANGER MUSINGSThis week marked the third game that YuDarvish pitched in this spring and he did-n't disappoint. Darvish held the Brewers toone hit and one run in his four innings ofwork. The box score doesn't tell the tale; itwasn't easy. His fastball was clocked 93-95 miles an hour but he missed the strikezone in key counts in the second inningissuing a leadoff walk. Mix in a wild pitchand a batter hit - Jonathan Lucroy in thesecond inning of the game but that was thetoughest spot of the game.

The Darvish start wasn't the buzz in theCactus league on Monday. Instead, aprank took over as the lead story. FormerRanger Pitcher turned Angel C.J. Wilsondecided to tweet catcher Mike Napoli'sphone number to his 100,000+ followers.

This led to an avalanche of calls toNapoli's number that had the catcher see-ing red. What was Wilson thinking? Hesaid he was pranking his former teammatebecause Nap said he wanted to hit a homeroff of him. Luckily Napoli, who said themove was unnecessary, doesn't use thenumber anymore. You can bet he'll bedialed in when the Rangers met the Angelsthis Sunday in Tempe. Wilson is slated toget the start.

THE DUTCH OVEN GETS PAIDDerek Holland has been on the receivingend of loads of pranks over his cheesymustache but this week he is laughing allthe way to the bank. Holland agrees to afive year contract extension worth $28.5million dollars. He was money down thestretch as you recall winning 12 of 13decisions. At 25 years old he is worthevery penny! He just needs to keep shav-ing.

Kate Delaney hosts "America Tonight,"which airs from 11p.m. - 2a.m. on KKGM1630AM.


The Big German has it stuck on automaticSPORTS SHORTS WITH KATE DELANEY

by RICHARD S. POLLAK,The Hockey AttitudeSPECIAL [email protected]

WOW! The Dallas Stars are currently lead-ing the Pacific Division and third overall inthe Western Conference with only 3 weeksleft in the season. Normally, I would bejumping for joy, but it's a false sense ofsecurity. Theoretically, I would much ratherbe in 7th spot knowing exactly how manypoints I need to make the playoffs. After a10 game winning streak while at the top ofthe Pacific division, the Stars are tumbingwith loses and are fluctuating from 2-4points from watching the playoffs onceagain, on television.

STARS EMBREACE ST. PATTY’SThe Stars are the only team in the NHL towear Green on St. Pat's Night. Actually, theyalways wear a little Green since their days inMinnesota and in honor of originalMinnesota North Stars Owner NormGreen's wife Kelly. The Kelly green is gonebut the Stars will wore Reebok practice jer-seys for pre-game warm-ups which will

feature Gallic fonts for both the numbersand name plates. All of the players wereasked to take their name or nickname, andmake it Irish-themed, in honor of the holi-day. Each jersey will also include a sham-rock on the right lapel.The list of surnamesto be used includes the team captain,Brenden Morrow, also known as BrendenO’Morrow. Try to figure out their Irishnames: McChubbs ,O'Legend, FitzPetie ,Guinness, McCrush’em, O’Daddy , Goose,O’Hammer and McRibs.

FUTURE STARS HONOREDThe NCAA announced today that twoDallas Stars prospects, Austin Smith(Colgate) and Reilly Smith (Miami OH) aretwo of 10 student-athletes that have beennominated for the Hobey Baker Award,given annually to the top player in NCAADivision I hockey.

Austin Smith, 23, leads the nation with 36goals and is tied for second in overall scor-ing with 59 points. He was drafted by theDallas Stars in 2007 with the 128th overallpick and was the first Texas-native draftedby the Stars’ organization.Reilly Smith, 20,ranks second in the nation in goal scoring

with 27 goals this season with Miami(Ohio). Smith was a unanimous First-TeamAll-CCHA selection in 2012, one of twoplayers to accomplish that feat. He wasselected by Dallas as the 69th overall selec-tion in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and isscheduled to play Friday night in the CCHAChampionship Semifinal at Joe Louis Arenain Detroit.

A 23-member Selection Committee and anadditional round of fan balloting (atwww.hobeybakeraward.com from March16-25) will determine this year's winner.Criteria for the award include: displayingoutstanding skills in all phases of the game,strength of character on and off the ice,sportsmanship and scholastic achievement.

DALLAS STARSHOCKEY

Division lead creates false sense of security

Dirk

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Sol

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Ron Washington with The Hardline

The HardlineWeekdays, 3:00 - 7:00 PM

Rangers skipper Ron Washingtonjoins the boys in Surprise.

Mike: How's spring training been foryou so far?

Wash: So far we're staying healthy.If you can keep the guys that you dependon healthy, good things will continue tohappen.

Mike: How's the bullpen shaping upfor you?

Wash: The bullpen is fine. We don'tconcern ourselves with the results downhere too much. The bullpen is comingtogether. We've got some decisions tomake, but I think i'm going to like mystarting pitching staff, and i'm definitelygoing to like my bullpen.

Corby: When you went home afterthe World Series last year, were you ableto get away and disassociate from thoselast couple of games?

Wash: You get questions asked, buti've been in the game a long time. Iunderstood what happened. We didn'tactually lose the game, the St. LouisCardinals beat us. I don't ever hear any-one give the St. Louis Cardinals credit.They beat us. The guys busted their butt.

They gave everything they had. We did-n't make that pitch when we had to, wedidn't make that play when we had to andthat's a part of baseball and you move on.

We still have a quality team and we'reready to go through the 162 game grindagain. I don't want my guys thinkingabout the next World Series, becauseyou've got to go through some tears toget to that. Let's take care of this seasonand if we get back to the playoffs thenanything can happen. We're set to makeanother run.

Mike: It seems like Derek Hollandand Matt Harrison have been really goodso far this spring...

Wash: They really have. Hollandhasn't walked a batter yet this spring Idon't believe. Harrison is getting bettereach year. He's moving his fastballaround and he's totally focused. He'salways had good stuff, and so far he'sbeen trusting his stuff. I'm certaintlylooking forward to watching these twokids continue to grow.

Corby: Yu Darvish has to be a fasci-nating case study for you. From ourstandpoint, just seeing him live for thefirst time it's pretty cool...

Wash: He has tremendous stuff. Thething is he has to learn to figure outwhat's working that day. That's done inthe bullpen, and then you make anadjustment when you need to make anadjustment. He don't have to get in thegame and throw seven different pitches.If his fastball is doing what it needs todo, and he can change speeds and sink itand make it move on both sides of theplate then that's all he needs right there.

You never know, there may come apoint where you need a strikeout. Thenyou can pull something out, but you don'twant to show the hitters everything youhave in one game. That's an adjustmenthe has to make. We just want him tomake his pitches and control the tempoof the ballgame out there.

TICKET WINDOW


White RockSports Bar& Grill

718 N. Buckner Blvd #108 Dallas, TX 75218

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by RICHARD POLLAK,The Traveling GourmetSPECIAL [email protected]

What can you say about St. Pete's DancingMarlin Restaurant after 18 years as theanchor of the Deep Ellum Restaurant andBar scene except: LET’S GO DEEP SEAFISHIN!

The restaurant is filled with gigantic BlueMarlins hanging from everywhere. At thehelm of St.Pete's (a tribute to the patronSaint to deep sea fishing) is Pete Zotos, whois at his command post, behind the front ofthe bar where he can see and kibitz witheveryone that enters the front door. It's theDeep Ellum neighborhood’s version ofCheers, where Pete knows your name, lifestory and favorite sports team before youcan even put down your glass. Pete is thebiggest Dallas Sports Fan in town!

St. Pete’s features a full bar that includesmore than 50 brands of bottled beer plusanother 15 on tap and a complete selectionof premium wines.

But, we are here to discuss the food. Afterpreviewing the menu prior to our visit(which included Radio Personality KateDelaney, DSPW Editor Scott Rozsa andPublisher Dan Mc Vicker) I was excited totry the Chicken Fried Tuna. I quickly toldmy lunch table buddies the story about myfirst week in Dallas after I moved here fromPhiladelphia and was traveling to Houstonfor Burger King as Marketing Director. Iordered a Steak Sandwich on the road at aDairy Queen expecting a "PhillyCheesesteak" NOT A DEEP FRIEDBREADED HAMBURGER WITH WHITEGRAVY ON A BUN. I swore never to eat

anything Chicken Fried again - until NOW!

It was sensational, the BEST Chicken FriedAnything I had ever eaten. Even better thanDean Fearing's CF Maine Lobster! Thelightest of breading sweetly surrounded aperfectly prepared Tuna Steak with a warmrare center. I was only willing to share theCFT because Pete also served us his famousmarinated and grilled “Dancing” TunaSteak, which locals know is in a class all byitself.

The kitchen started our lunch with a homemade Spicy Carrot Soup and ladies friendlyGarden Salad. The veggies were masterful-ly seasoned and the broth thickened. TheAppetizers menu is highlighted by two fla-vors ( Angel and Wahoo flavored) of DeepSea Fried Chicken Wings, Buddy's FriedPickles, Vito Wong's Dumplings and Ivan'Crab Cakes which I highly recommend asan Appetizer,Sandwich or Entree.

Pete's Pasta comes with soup or salad andfresh bread with a Linguine, Spaghetti,Fettuccine, Penne, Bow tie, Rigatoni orAngel Hair Pasta. You can add Chickenbreast, Shrimp or Scallops to the Vegetablesala Terrio with Meatballs,Clams, red orwhite.marinara, Ala Vicki Constantine WithItalian Sausage, Quattro Formaggi, Garlicand Olive Oil, Pesto Diablo, DiabloTempestuous, Primavera or just Red orwhite sauce.

There are over 20 toppings for the handmade Sweet Alec’s pizzas and a jumboarray of seafood entrees like Alexa's FriedCatfish, Anna's Fried Shrimp, Cam's Fish &Chips and Oysters on the half shell.

In addition to the best Burger, the grill heatsup with Veggie Burgers, Chicken sandwich-es and Rudolf's Lucky Dog. There are also acouple of large NY Strip and cowboy cut

Ribeye steaks, but save room for Pete'smom Connie's recipe for Baklava and the inhouse made Chocolate Sheet Cake.

After covering the menu and the greatatmosphere at Pete's all that I can say is dinein then LET'S GO DEEP SEA FISHIN!

ST. PETE’S DANCING MARLIN2730 Commerce Street

Deep EllumDallas, Texas 75226

214.698.1511www.stpetesdancingmarlin.com

Food Type: American (Traditional)Price: In line $$

Service: Relaxed, experiencedScene: Casual

Credit Cards: All major acceptedOutdoor Seating: YesGroup seating: Yes

Wheelchair Access: YesFlat Screens For Sports: Yes

Take-out: YesCaters: Yes

Dish to Die For:Chicken Fried Tuna Steak

Dessert to Die For:Choclate sheet cake

(secret family recipe - OMG!)

Hours:Mon-Sat 11:00 am - 2:00 am

Sun 11:30 am - 2 am

Dive in to a memorable experience at St. Pete’sDINING


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