Dallas Futility

For those that enjoy portents of doom, please take a moment to survey the great players arrayed at the tops of this page. Now, ponder the fates of the Dallas teams this season.
First, the infamous Romo bobble that cost the Cowboys their first playoff win since 1996. What this does to the burgeoning young quarterback's psyche is anyone's guess going into the 2007 season.

The Dallas Stars joined the fray with their ignominious exit in the first round series against the Vancouver Canucks. Goalie Marty Turco must unfortunately be PERFECT in order to advance the Stars to the Cup finals.

With their spectacular collapse in the first round, the Mavericks joined their Dallas team brethren in first round playoff exits. The Mavs made it into the history books as the first number one seeded team to lose to the number eight seat, the Golden State Warriors, in the seven game series format. Nice.

And last, as Powerhouser J.D. so astutely points out, the Texas Rangers are bad. Kansas City Royals bad. Their performance against the Yankees last week marks a new low in horrendous defense and hitting ineptitude.

As for the Rangers, this led me to ponder a few things. I get tired of hearing Cubs fans whine as much as the next sports fan about their "Lovable Losers" team. The Rangers, even in their previous incarnation as the Washington Senators, are ALSO historically bad. Now, even though the Cubs have over 100 years of history compared to the Rangers 45 years, we can still take a look. Let's compare:

Chicago Cubs (1902-present)
Number of postseason appearances (series) : 14
Number of National League Championships: 10 (last one in 1945)
Last appearance in postseason: 2003

Washington Senators (1961-1971)
Number of winning seasons: 1
Number of postseasons appearances: ZERO

Texas Rangers (1972-present)
Number of postseason appearances: 3
Number of American League Championships: ZERO
Last appearance in postseason: 1999

Why are the Rangers so bad? I point to Dubya, Tom Hicks, John Hart, and Jon Daniels. The Cubs may have their goat, but we have the worst owners and General Managers in baseball history.

"Maybe."
--Tom Hicks, Dec. 12, 2000, when asked if he overpaid for the services of Shortstop Alex Rodriguez. To date, Tom Hicks is still paying parts of Rodriguez's salary to play for the Yankees.